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Library of Che Theological Seminary 


PRINCETON + NEW JERSEY 









<p: 


PRESENTED BY 





John Stuart Conning, D.D. 





PIR OS Gro 44) 99925 
Fleg, Edmond, 1874-1963. 
The Jewish anthology 







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THE JEWISH ANTHOLOGY 


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THE \. ie i, 


By EDMOND FLEG 


TRANSLATED BY 
MAURICE SAMUEL 


an 


New York 
HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT, 1925, sy 
HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY 


PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. 


Translators Preface 


In his compilation, L’Anthologie Juive, published originally 
in French, M. Edmond Fleg sought not so much to gather into 
one volume what was most striking or most valuable in Jewish 
literary production as to present, through the medium of 
brief extracts, a rapid and fragmentary picture of Jewish 
spiritual experience from the beginnings to modern times. 
Of necessity, some of the best literary material extant en- 
tered into the compilation. Side by side with this material 
there is other, of less intrinsic merit, but hardly of less in- 
terest. The totality of these utterances of the Jewish people, 
the product of some twenty-five centuries, affords a glimpse 
into an astonishing history, continuous despite repeated frag- 
mentation and consistent despite frequent adaptation. The 
original languages of these utterances—Hebrew, Aramaic, 
Greek, Latin, Arabic, French, English, German, Italian, Yid- 
dish—are themselves an intimation of the varieties of ex- 
perience embodied in these records. The actual material re- 
flects the exaltation, despair, patience, and infinite vitality of 
a people that has lived much, seen much, suffered much, and 
thought hard. 

The English rendering of this anthology differs in some 
respects from the original. The French compilation devotes 
some seventy pages at the beginning to extracts from the 
Bible. The English rendering begins with the Hellenistic and 
Talmudic epochs. The Bible is so much more familiar to 
the English-reading world that the inclusion of biblical ex- 
tracts would merely give academic balance to the anthology 
without adding anything of value to it. A certain amount of 
material has been omitted from the body of the book without, 


I believe, spoiling the unity or the representative character 
Vv 


vi TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE 


of the whole. On the other hand I have included a few addi- 
tional poems from the living Hebrew poets. They do not fit 
in strictly with M. Fleg’s original plan, but I believe that the 
renaissance of Hebrew and Hebrew literature within the last 
generation is an event of prime importance in the history of 
the Jewish people, and should find fuller representation in a 
compilation of this kind. The history of Jewish utterance 
seems to be coming full circle now: while Hebrew has never 
ceased to be a language of utterance for the Jews, it is only 
recently that it has begun to play a living réle comparable 
with that which it played during the epoch of their first 
national consciousness. 

With regard to the translation, it is necessary to explain 
that M. Fleg has not merely chosen passages from the literary 
records of the Jews and put these into French. In some 
places his translation is so free as to amount to an adaptation. 
In other places he has edited the text, condensing and re- 
producing the content. In all cases, except where standard 
translations exist (as for instance Josephus, Philo, Maimon- 
ides, Spinoza, Halper’s Anthology, etc.), I have gone back 
to the original for comparison, but I have nearly always found 
M. Fleg’s adaptation skilfully pointed to his purpose. In- 
stances are some of the Talmudic legends, Berachya ben 
Natronai, Krochmal, etc. In the case of Berachya ben 
Natronai’s Fable of the Wolf, M. Fleg completely discarded 
the original form, and I have followed his example. Natronai’s 
fables are interesting in content, but his form is extraordinarily 
tedious. Compared with the deft La Fontaine he would come 
off very badly. 

With the exception of Israel Zangwill’s translation of the 
Kether Malchuth, and Nina Salaman’s translation of Ha-Levi’s 
Parting, all the verse translations are mine. Some of them 
have already appeared in The Menorah Journal and The New 
Palestine, to the editors of which I am indebted for permission 
to reproduce. The greater part appears here for the first time. 
Outside of the standard translations mentioned above, the 


TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE vii 


prose translations are, with very few exceptions, also mine. 
Finally, I wish to record my thanks to Dr. Louis Finkelstein, 
of the Jewish Theological Seminary, for much assistance and 
advice. 

Maurice SAMUEL. 


7 
1) 
i 
i 


: . 





Contents 


THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


CHAPTER 


i 
it 
iT: 
IV. 


History AND LEGEND 

RELIGION AND MorRALity . 
APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE . . 
Jupo0-ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHY . 


THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


Tue LIFE oF THE SCHOOLS 


. THE SAGES : : $ 
. THE Two Aspects oF TRADITION 


THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


. History AND LEGEND : ; 3 ; i 
. Reticious THouGHT—EXEGESIS AND PHILOSOPHY 
Lr OBTRY i Boat ole 
. TRADITION AND LIFE . 


THE MODERN EPOCH 


History 


. CRITICISM OF JUDAISM : : ; 
. THe Turee Aspects or Moprern JUDAISM 


JewisH Lire In JewisH LITERATURE 


BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX . 





THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


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The Hellenistic Epoch 


Unper Alexander the Great and his successors and even during the 
later period of the Roman domination, Israel comes into close 
contact with Greek civilization. At Alexandria, despite the constant 
struggles, the Hebraic spirit and the Hellenistic draw closer to- 
gether, and are finally reconciled in the work of Philo Judzus, who 
anticipates and prepares the Christian theology. In Palestine, how- 
ever, where the Sages and their schools perpetuate the tradition, the 
resistance exercised by the Jewish spirit is much stronger; it triumphs 
under the Maccabees, and is vanquished only in the material field 
by Titus, who destroys Jerusalem and the second Temple, but leaves 
the Synagogue and the School to give Judaism a new lease of life. 


CHRONOLOGY 
B.C. 

333-323. Palestine incorporated in the Empire of Alexander the 
Great. The Samaritans have a Temple and cult of their 
own. Simon the Just continues the oral tradition in the 
Great Synagogue. 

320-198. Palestine in the hands of the Ptolemies, of Egypt. The 
Jews found or develop communities in the Greek cities of 
the Mediterranean, Antioch, Damascus, Ephesus, etc., and 
above all at Alexandria, where, under the administration 
of an Ethnarch, they prepare the union of the Greek and 
the Jewish spirit. 

198. Palestine incorporated in the Kingdom of Syria by Anti- 
ochus the Great. 

175-168. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, King of Syria, attempts to force 
the Greek cult and customs on the Jews of Palestine. The 
revolt of the Maccabees or Hasmoneans. First develop- 
ments of the Apocalyptic literature. 

168. Palestine, freed from Syrian domination, becomes an 
independent State. 

139. Simon Maccabeus, Prince and High Priest, makes an alli- 
ance with Rome. A Jewish colony is already in existence 


in Rome. 
a 


50-60. 


THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


. Aristobulus I, grandson of Simon, takes the title of King. 
. Reign of his successor, Alexander; violent struggles be- 


tween the two sects of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. 
The Romans under Pompey take possession of Jerusalem. 


. The Jews of the Diaspora, who, according to Strabo, have 


communities in all the lands of the Roman Empire and 
several of whom are citizens and electors of Rome, obtain 
the right from Cesar to send an annual tribute to the 
Temple (fiscus Judaicus). 


. Herod the Idumezan, Governor of Galilee, induces the 


Roman Senate to appoint him King of the Jews. 

The Schools of Shemaya and Abtalion carry on the oral 
tradition. Progress of the sect of the Essenes. 

Death of Herod the Great. Revolt of the Jews. 


Palestine divided into four Roman provinces. 


- Death of Hillel. The oral tradition continued by the 


Tanaim (teachers). Gamaliel I. 


_ Pontius Pilate procurator of Judea. Jesus and the Apos- 


tles. The Judzo-Christians. 
Herod-Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, is pro- 
moted to the kingship by the Emperor Claudius. 


. The Jews of Alexandria, threatened in their interests and 


privileges, send their coreligionist, the philosopher Philo, 
as ambassador to Claudius. 


. Helen, Queen of Adiabenus, and her sons Izates and 


Monobaz, converted to Judaism. Progress of Jewish 
proselytizing. 

Work of Saul of Tarsus (St. Paul) who makes an inde- 
pendent religion of Judzo-Christianity. 


. Florus, Governor of Judea. Revolt of the Jews. 
. Vespasian sent from Rome to suppress the revolt. The 


historian Flavius Josephus takes part in the struggle and 
gives himself up to the Romans. 


_ Titus takes Jerusalem, destroys the second Temple and 


leads many Jews captive to Rome, among them Agrippa II, 
the last King of the Jews, his sister Berenice and Flavius 
Josephus. Palestine a Roman Province. 


Chapter I 
HISTORY AND LEGEND 
ALEXANDER THE GREAT AT JERUSALEM 


Now Alexander, when he had taken Gaza, made haste to go 
up to Jerusalem; and Jaddua, the High Priest [Simon the 
Just], when he heard this, was in agony and terror, not know- 
ing how he should treat the Macedonians, since the King was 
displeased at his previous disobedience. He therefore or- 
dained that the people should Say prayers, and should join 
with him in offering sacrifices to God, Whom he besought 
to protect that nation, and to deliver them from the perils 
that were coming upon them. Whereupon God warned him 
In a dream, which came upon him after he had offered sac- 
rifice, that he should take courage, and adorn the city and 
open the gates; that the rest should appear in white garments, 
but that he and the priests should meet the King in the 
habits proper to their order without dread of any ill conse- 
quences. Upon which, when he rose from sleep, he greatly 
rejoiced: rit: 

The Pheenicians and Chaldeans who followed Alexander 
thought they should have liberty to plunder the city and tor- 
ment the High Priest to death, which the King’s displeasure 
fairly promised they should be allowed to do; but the very 
reverse happened. For, when he saw the multitude at a great 
distance, in white garments, while the priests stood clothed 
with white linen, and the High Priest in purple and scarlet 
clothing, with the mitre on his head, having the golden plate 
whereon the name of God was engraved, Alexander approached 
by himself and adored that name and first saluted the High 

5 


6 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


Priest. The Jews, all together, with one voice, saluted Alex- 
ander, and encompassed him about, whereupon the Kings of 
Syria and the rest were surprised at what Alexander had done 
and supposed him disordered in mind. However, Parmenio 
alone went up to him, and asked him how it came about that, 
when all others adored him, he should adore the High Priest 
of the Jews. To whom he replied: “I did not adore him, but 
the God who hath honoured him with his High Priesthood; for 
I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit, when 
I was at Dios in Macedonia, considering with myself how I 
might obtain the dominion of Asia, and he exhorted me to 
make no delay, but boldly to pass over the sea thither, for 
that he would conduct my army and would give me dominion 
over the Persians.” And when he had said this to Parmenio, 
and had given the High Priest his right hand, the priests ran 
along by him and he came into the city; and when he went 
up into the Temple he offered sacrifice to God, according to 
the High Priest’s direction, and magnificently treated both the 
High Priest and the priests. (Josephus, Ant. XI, II.) 


THE SAMARITANS AND THEIR TEMPLE 


The elders of Jerusalem, being very uneasy that Menassah,. 
the brother of Jaddua, the High Priest, though married to a 
foreigner, should be a partner with him in the High Priesthood, 
quarrelled with him; for they esteemed this man’s marriage a 
step to such as would be desirous of transgressing in regard to 
the marriage of strange wives, and this would be the beginning 
of a mutual society with foreigners. . . . So they commanded 
Menassah to divorce his wife, or not to approach the altar, 
the High Priest himself joining with the people in their in- 
dignation against his brother and driving him away from the 
altar. Whereupon Menassah came to his father-in-law, San- 
ballat, and told him that though he loved his daughter N icasso, 
yet he was not willing to be deprived of his sacerdotal dignity 
on her account, which was the principal dignity in the nation 








HISTORY AND LEGEND 7 


and always continued in the same family. And then San- 
ballat promised him not only to preserve to him the honour 
of his priesthood, but to procure for him the power and dig- 
nity of a High Priest and make him governor of all the places 
he now ruled, if he would keep his daughter for his wife. He 
also told him further that he would build him a Temple like 
that at Jerusalem upon Mount Gerizim, which is the highest of 
all the mountains that are in Samaria, and he promised that 
he would do this with the approbation of Darius the King. 
Menassah was elated by these promises, and stayed with San- 
ballat, supposing that he should gain a High Priesthood, be- 
stowed on him by Darius, for it happened that Sanballat was 
then in years. . . . [Sanballat then promised Darius to aid 
him in his struggle with Alexander, in the belief that Darius 
would be victor. But Darius was defeated, and Sanballat 
changed his plans. . . .] Sanballat thought the proper oppor- 
tunity had come for him to make his attempt, and taking with 
him seven thousand of his own subjects, he came to Alexander; 
and finding him beginning the siege of Tyre, he said to him 
that he delivered up to him these men, who came out of places 
under his dominion and did gladly accept him as their lord 
instead of Darius. So when Alexander had received him 
kindly, Sanballat took courage, and spoke to him about his 
present affair. He told him that he had a son-in-law, Menas- 
sah, who was brother to the High Priest Jaddua, and that there 
were many others of his own nation now with him that were 
desirous to have a temple in the places subject to him ; that 
it would be better for the King’s advantage to have the strength 
of the Jews divided into two parts, lest, being of one mind 
and united, they might prove troublesome to Kings upon any 
attempt at innovation, as they had formerly done to the Kings 
of Syria. Whereupon Alexander gave Sanballat leave to do 
so; and Sanballat used the utmost diligence and built the 
temple and made Menassah the Priest, and deemed it a great 
reward that his daughter’s children should have that dignity. 
. . . (Josephus, Ant. XI, 11.) 


8 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


THE SEPTUAGINTA 


Demetrius of Phalerum, the president of the King’s library, 
received vast sums of money for the purpose of collecting 
together, as far as he possibly could, all the books in the world. 
By means of purchase and transcription, he carried out, to the 
best of his ability, the purpose of King Ptolemy. On one 
occasion he was asked: ‘How many books are there in the 
library?” And he answered: ‘More than two hundred thou- 
sand, O King, and I shall make endeavour in the immediate 
future to gather together the remainder also, so that the total 
of five hundred thousand may be reached. I am told that the 
laws of the Jews are worth transcribing and deserve a place 
in your library.” ‘What is to prevent you from doing this?” 
replied the King. ‘They need to be translated,” answered 
Demetrius, “for in the country of the Jews they use a peculiar 
dialect. . . .” And the King, when he understood all the facts 
of the case, ordered a letter to be written to the Jewish High 
Priest that his purpose might be accomplished. .. . 

And Eleazer, after offering the sacrifice and choosing the 
envoys, and preparing many gifts for the King, despatched 
us on our journey in great security. And when we reached 
Alexandria, the King was at once informed of our arrival... . 
When they entered with the gifts which had been sent with 
them and the valuable parchments on which the law was in- 
scribed in gold in Jewish characters, for the parchment was 
wonderfully prepared and the connection between the pages 
had been so effected as to be invisible, the King, as soon as 
he saw them, began to ask them about the books. And when 
they had taken the rolls out of their covers and unfolded the 
pages, the King stood still for a long time, and then, making 
obeisance about seven times, said: “I thank you, my friends, 
and I thank him that sent you still more, and most of all God, 
whose oracles these are. . . .” 

Three days later Demetrius took the men, and, passing along 
the sea-wall, seven stadia long, to the island, crossed the 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 9 


bridge and made for the northern districts of Pharos. There 
he assembled them in a house, which had been built upon the 
seashore, of great beauty and in a secluded situation, and in- 
vited them to carry out the work of translation, since every- 
thing they needed for the purpose was placed at their disposal. 
So they set to work comparing their several results and making 
them agree... . 

And the King . . . did homage and ordered that great care 
should be taken of the books, and that they should be sacredly 
guarded. And he urged the translators to visit him frequently 
after their return to Judza, saying he would treat them as 
friends and that they would receive rich presents from him. 
(Letter of Aristeas.) 


HELLENISM IN PALESTINE 


After the death of Seleucus, when Antiochus, called Epiph- 
anes, took the Kingdom, Jason, the brother of Onias, la- 
boured secretly to be High Priest, promising to the King by 
intercession three hundred and threescore talents of silver, 
and another revenue of eighty talents. Beside this, he prom- 
ised to assign an hundred and fifty more if he might have 
license to set up a place for exercise, and for the training up 
of youth in the fashion of the heathen, and to write them 
of Jerusalem by the name of Antiochians. When the King had 
granted this, and he had received the rule into his hand, he 
forthwith brought his own nation to adopt the Greekish fash- 
ions. . . . Now such was the height of these fashions, and 
the increase of heathenish manners,. through the exceeding 
profaneness of Jason, that ungodly wretch and no High Priest, 
that the priests had no courage any more to serve at the altar, 
but, despising the temple and neglecting the sacrifices, hastened 
to be partakers of the unlawful allowance in the place of ex- 
ercise, after the game of discus called them forth: not setting 
aside the honours of their fathers, but liking the glory of the 
Grecians best of all. By reason whereof sore calamity came 


10 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


upon them: for they had them to be their enemies and avengers, 
whose custom they followed so earnestly, and whom they de- 
sired to resemble in all things. (JJ Maccabees 4.) 


THE PERSECUTIONS OF ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES 


Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be 
one people, and every one should leave his laws, so all the 
heathen agreed according to the commandment of the King. 
Yea, many also of the Israelites consented to his religion, and 
sacrificed unto idols and profaned the Sabbath. For the King 
had sent letters by messengers unto Jerusalem and the cities 
of Juda, that they should follow the laws and rites of the 
strangers of the land, and forbid burnt offerings and sacrifice, 
and drink offerings, in the Temple; and that they should pro- 
fane the Sabbath and festival days; and pollute the sanctuary 
and holy people; set up altars and groves and chapels of idols 
and sacrifice swine’s flesh and unclean beasts: that they should 
also leave their children uncircumcised, and make their souls 
abominable with all manner of uncleanness and profanation: 
to the end that they might forget the law and change all the 
ordinances. And whosoever would not do according to the 
commandment of the King, he said, should die. In the self- 
same manner he wrote to his whole kingdom, and appointed 
overseers over all the people, commanding the cities of Juda 
to sacrifice, city by city. (I Maccabees 1.) 


THE REBELLION OF MATTATHIAS 


In the meanwhile the King’s officers, those who compelled 
the people to revolt, came into the city Modin to make them 
sacrifice. And when many of Israel came unto them, Mat- 
tathias also and his sons came together. Then answered the 
King’s officer and said to Mattathias on this wise: Thou art 
a ruler and an honourable and great man in this city, and 
strengthened with sons and brethren; now therefore come thou 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 11 


first and fulfil the King’s commandment, like as all the heathen 
have done, yea, and the men of Juda also, and such as remain 
at Jerusalem; so shalt thou and thy house be in the number 
of the King’s friends, and thou and thy children shall be 
honoured with silver and gold, and many rewards. Then 
Mattathias answered and spake with a loud voice: Though 
all the nations that are under the King’s dominion obey him, 
and fall every one away from the religion of their fathers, and 
give consent to his commandments, yet will I and my sons 
and my brethren walk in the covenant of our fathers. God 
forbid that we should forsake the law and the ordinances. 
We will not hearken to the King’s words, to go from our re- 
ligion either to the right hand or the left. Now when he had 
leit speaking these words, there came one of the Jews in the 
sight of all to sacrifice on the altar which was at Modin, ac- 
cording to the King’s commandment. Which thing when Mat- 
tathias saw, he was inflamed with zeal, and his reins trembled, 
neither could he forbear to show his anger according to judg- 
ment; wherefore he ran, and slew him upon the altar. Also 
the King’s commissioner, who compelled men to sacrifice, he 
killed at that time, and the altar he pulled down. Thus dealt 
he zealously for the law of God, like as Phineas did unto 
Zamri, the son of Salom. And Mattathias cried throughout 
the city with a loud voice: Whosoever is zealous of the law 
and maintaineth the covenant, let him follow me. So he and 
his sons fled into the mountains, and left all that ever they 
had in the city. (IJ Maccabees 2.) 


~ 


THE MARTYRDOM OF SEVEN BROTHERS AND THEIR MOTHER 


It came to pass also that seven brethren with their mother 
were taken and coinpelled by the King against the law to taste 
swine’s flesh and be tormented with scourges and whips. But 
one of them that spake first, said thus: What wouldst thou 
ask or learn of us? We are ready to die rather than to trans- 
gress against the laws of our fathers. The King, being in a 


12 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


rage, commanded pans and caldrons to be made hot. Which 
forthwith being heated, he commanded to cut out the tongue 
of him that spake first, and to cut off the hindmost parts of 
his body, the rest of his brethren and his mother looking on. 
Now when he was thus maimed in all his members, he com- 
manded him, being yet alive, to be brought to the fire and 
to be fried in the pan: and as the vapour of the pan was for 
a good space dispersed, they exhorted one another with the 
mother to die manfully, saying thus: The Lord looketh upon 
us, and in truth hath comfort in us, as Moses in his song, which 
witnessed to their faces, declared, saying: And he shall be 
comforted in his servants. 

So when the first was dead after this manner, they brought 
the second to make him a laughing-stock; and when they had 
pulled off the skin of his head with the hair, they asked him: 
Wilt thou eat, before thou be punished throughout every mem- 
ber of thy body? But he answered in his own language and 
said, No. Wherefore he also received the next torment in 
order, as the former did. And when he was at the last gasp 
he said: Thou, like a fury, takest us out of this present life, 
but the King of the world shall raise us up, who have died 
for his laws, unto everlasting life. After him was the third 
made a laughing-stock: and when he was required, he put out 
his tongue, and that right soon, holding forth his hands man- 
fully. And he said courageously: These I had from heaven, 
and for his laws I despise them; and from him I hope to re- 
ceive them again. Insomuch that the King, and they that 
were with him, marvelled at the young man’s courage, for that 
he nothing regarded the pains. 

Now when this man was dead also, they tormented and 
mangled the fourth in like manner. So when he was ready 
to die, he said thus: It is good, being put to death by men, 
to look for hope from God to be raised up again by him; 
as for thee, thou shalt have no resurrection to life. After that 
they brought the fifth also and mangled him. Then he looked 
unto the King and said: Thou hast power over men, thou 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 13 


art corruptible, thou dost what thou wilt; yet think not that 
our nation is forsaken of God; but abide a while and behold 
his great power, how he will faeRent thee and thy seed. After 
him they also brought the sixth, who, being ready to die, said: 
Be not deceived without cause, for we suffer these things for 
ourselves, having sinned against our God: therefore marvellous 
things are done unto us. But think not thou, that takest in 
hand to strive against God, that thou shalt escape punish- 
MENT AP sie 

Now Antiochus, while the youngest was yet alive, did not 
only exhort him by words, but also assured him with oaths, 
that he would make him both a rich and a happy man, if he 
would turn from the laws of his fathers; and that also he 
would take him for his friend, and trust him with affairs. But 
when the young man would in no case hearken unto him, the 
King called his mother, and exhorted her that she would coun- 
sel the young man to save his life. And when he had exhorted 
her with many words, she promised that she would counsel 
her son. Then she bowed herself toward him, laughing the 
cruel tyrant to scorn, and spake in her country language in 
this manner: O my son, have pity upon me that bare thee nine 
months in my womb, and gave thee suck three years, and 
nourished thee, and brought thee up unto this age, and en- 
dured the trouble of education; I beseech thee, my son, look 
upon the heaven and the earth and all that is therein, and 
consider that God made them of things that were not; and so 
was mankind made likewise. Fear not this tormentor but, 
being worthy of thy brethren, take thy death, that I may 
receive thee again in mercy with thy brethren. Whiles she 
was yet speaking these words, the young man said: Whom 
wait ye for? I will not obey the King’s commandment: but 
I will obey the commandment of the law that was given unto 
our fathers by Moses. . . . Then the King, being in a rage, 
handled him worse than all the rest, and took it grievously 
that he was mocked. So this man died undefiled and put his 
whole trust in the Lord. 


14 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


Last of all, after the sons, the mother died. (JI Maccabees 
7-) 


JUDAS MACCABEUS 


And now, when the trial seemed to be at hand, and the 
enemies were already come near, and the army was set in 
array, and the beasts conveniently placed, and the horsemen 
set in wings, Maccabeus, seeing the coming of the multitude, 
and the divers preparations of armour, and the fierceness of 
the beasts, stretched out his hands toward heaven, and called 
upon the Lord that worketh wonders, knowing that victory 
cometh not by arms, but even as it seemeth good to him, he 
giveth it to such as are worthy. Therefore in his prayer he 
said after this manner: O Lord, thou didst send thine angel 
in the time of Ezekias, King of Judea, and didst slay in the 
host of Sennacherib an hundred, fourscore and five thousand: 
wherefore now also, O Lord of even send a good angel be- 
fore us for a fear and dread unto them; and through the 
might of thine arm, let those be stricken with terror, that 
come against thy holy house to blaspheme. And he ended 
thus. 

Then Nicanor and they that were with him came forward 
with trumpets and songs. But Judas and his company en- 
countered the enemies with invocation and prayer. So that 
fighting with their hands and praying unto God with their 
hearts, they slew no less than thirty-five thousand men; for 
through the appearance of God they were greatly cheered. 

Now when the battle was done, returning again with joy, 
they knew that Nicanor lay dead in his harness. Then they 
made a great shout and a noise, praising the Almighty in their 
own language. And Judas, oe was ever the chief defender 
of the citizens, both in body and mind, and who continued 
his love toward his countrymen all a life, commanded to 
strike off Nicanor’s head and his hand with his shoulder, and 
bring them to Jerusalem. So when he was there, and had 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 15 


called them of his nation together, and set the priests before 
the altar, he sent for them that were of the tower. And he 
showed them the vile Nicanor’s head, and the hand of that 
blasphemer, which with proud boasts he had stretched out 
against the Temple of the Almighty. And when he had cut 
out the tongue of that ungodly Nicanor, he commanded that 
they should give it by pieces to the fowls, and hang up the 
reward of his madness before the Temple. So every man 
praised towards heaven the glorious Lord, saying: Blessed be 
he that hath kept his own place undefiled. He hanged also 
Nicanor’s head upon the tower, an evident and manifest sign 
unto all of the help of the Lord. And they ordained all with 
a common decree in no case to let that day pass without 
solemnity, but to celebrate the thirteenth day of the twelfth 
month, which in Syrian tongue is called Adar, the day before 
Mardocheus day. (JI Maccabees 15.) 


JUDITH AND HOLOFERNES 


And in the fourth day Holofernes made a feast to his 
own servants only, and called none of the officers to the ban- 
quet. Then he said to Bagoas the eunuch, who had charge 
over all that he had: Go now, and persuade that Hebrew 
woman which is with thee that she come unto us and eat and 
drink with us. For lo, it will be a shame to our person if 
we let such a woman go, not having had her company; for 
if we draw her not unto us she will laugh us to scorn. Then 
went Bagoas from the presence of Holofernes and came unto 
her, and he said: Let not this fair damsel fear to come to 
my lord, and to be honoured in his presence and to drink 
wine, and be merry with us, and be made this day as one of 
the daughters of the Assyrians, which serve in the house of 
Nebuchodonosor. Then said Judith unto him: Who am I now 
that I should gainsay my lord? Surely whatsoever pleaseth 
him I will do speedily, and it shall be my joy unto the day 
of my death. So she arose and decked herself with her ap- 


16 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


parel and her woman’s attire, and her maid went and laid 
soft skins on the ground for her over against Holofernes, which 
she had received from Bagoas for her daily use, that she might 
sit and eat upon them. Now when Judith came in and sat 
down, Holofernes his heart was ravished with her, and his 
mind was moved and he desired greatly her company: for he 
waited a time to deceive her, from the day that he had seen 
her. Then said Holofernes unto her: Drink now, and be 
merry with us. Then Judith said: I will drink now, my lord, 
because my life is magnified in me this day more than all the 
days since I was born. Then she took and ate and drank 
before him what her maid had prepared. And Holofernes 
took great delight in her and drank much more wine than 
he had drunk at any time in one day since he was born. 
Now when the evening was come, his servants made haste 
to depart, and Bagoas shut his tent without and dismissed 
the waiters from the presence of his lord; and they went to 
their beds, for they were all weary because the feast had been 
Jong. And Judith was left alone in the tent, and Holofernes 
lying along upon his bed, for he was filled with wine. Now 
Judith had commanded her maid to stand without her bed- 
chamber, and to wait for her coming forth, as she did daily; 
for she said she would go forth to her prayers, and she spake 
to Bagoas according to the same purpose. So all went forth, 
and none was left in the bedchamber, neither little nor great. 
Then Judith, standing by his bed, said in her heart: O Lord 
God of all power, look at this present upon the works of mine 
hand for the exaltation of Jerusalem. For now is the time to 
help thine inheritance, and to execute mine enterprises to the 
destruction of the enemies which are risen against us. Then 
she came to the pillar of the bed, which was at Holofernes’ 
head, and took down his fauchion from thence. And she 
approached his bed, and took hold of the hair of his head, and 
said: Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day. And 
she smote twice upon his neck with all her might, and she took 
away his head from him. And she tumbled his body down 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 17 


from the bed and pulled down the canopy from the pillars; 
and anon after she came forth, and gave Holofernes his head 
to her maid; and she put it in her bag of meal, so they twain 
went together. (Judith 12: 10—13: 10.) 


CAESAR AND THE JEWS 


The decree of Czsar: “I, Julius Cesar, imperator the second 
time, and High Priest, have made this decree with the appro- 
bation of the Senate: Whereas Hyrcanus, the son of Alex- 
ander, the Jew, hath demonstrated his fidelity and diligence 
about our affairs, and this both now and in former times, 
both in peace and in war, as many of our generals have borne 
witness, and came to our assistance in the Alexandrian war, 
with fifteen hundred soldiers. . . . For these reasons I will 
that Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, and his children, be 
ethnarchs of the Jews and have the High Priesthood of the 
Jews for ever, and that he and his sons be our confederates; 
and that beside this every one of them be reckoned among 
our particular friends. I also ordain that he and his children 
retain whatever privileges belong to the office of High Priest, 
or whatsoever favours have been hitherto granted them; and 
if at any time hereafter there arise any questions about the 
Jewish customs, I will that he determine the same. And I 
think it not proper that they should be obliged to find us 
winter quarters, or that any money should be required of them. 
. . . Ambassadors shall be sent to Hyrcanus, the son of Alex- 
ander, the High Priest of the Jews, that may discourse with 
him about a league of friendship and mutual assistance; and 
a table of brass, containing the promises, shall be openly pro- 
posed in the capitol, and at Sidon and Tyre and Askelon, and 
in the Temple, engraven in Roman and Greek letters: and this 
decree may be also communicated to the questors and pretors 
of the several cities, and to the friends of the Jews: and the 
ambassadors shall have presents made them, and these decrees 
shall be sent everywhere. . . .” (Josephus, Ant. XIV, X.) 


18 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


THE LAST WISH OF HEROD THE GREAT 


Herod, having no longer the least hopes of recovering, gave 
order that every soldier should be paid fifty drachme; and 
he also gave a great deal to his commanders, and to his friends, 
and came again to Jericho, where he grew so choleric that it 
brought him to do all things like a madman; and though he 
were near his death he contrived the following wicked designs. 
He commanded that all the principal men of the entire Jewish 
nation, wheresoever they lived, should be called to him. Ac- 
cordingly, there were a great number that came, because the 
whole nation was called and death was the penalty of such 
as should despise the epistles that were sent to call them. 
And now the king was in a wild rage against them all, the 
innocent as well as those that had afforded him ground for 
accusations; and when they were come he ordered them all 
to be shut up in the hippodrome, and sent for his sister 
Salome, and her husband Alexas, and spoke thus to them: 
“T shall die in a little time, so great are my pains; which 
death ought to be cheerfully borne, and to be welcomed by 
all men; but what principally troubles me is this, that I shall 
die without being lamented, and without such mourning as men 
usually expect at a King’s death.” For that he was not un- 
acquainted with the temper of the Jews, that his death would 
be a thing very desirable and exceedingly acceptable to them; 
because during his lifetime they were ready to revolt from 
him. . . . It was therefore the business of Salome and Alexas 
to resolve to afford him some alleviation of his great sorrows 
on this occasion; for that if they did not refuse him their 
consent to what he desired, he should have a great mourning 
at his funeral, and such as never any King had before him; 
for then the whole nation would mourn from their very soul, 
which otherwise would be done in sport and mockery only. 
He desired therefore that as soon as they saw that he had 
given up the ghost, they should place soldiers round the hip- 
podrome, while they did not yet know he was dead; and that 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 19 


they should not declare his death to the multitude till this 
was done, but that they should give order to have those that 
were in custody shot with their darts. And this slaughter 
of them all would cause that he should not miss rejoicing on 
a double occasion; that as he was dying they would make 
him certain that his will would be executed in what he charged 
them to do; that he should have the honour of a memorable 
mourning at his funeral. So he deplored his condition, with 
tears in his eyes, and charged them by the kindness due from 
them, as being his kindred, and by the faith they owed to 
God, and begged them that they should not deprive him of this 
honourable mourning at his funeral. So they promised him 
not to transgress his commands.* (Josephus, Wars of the 
Jews.) 


ANTI-JUDAISM IN EGYPT 


Now the Egyptians were the first that cast reproaches upon 
us; in order to please which nation, some others undertook 
to pervert the truth, while they would neither own that our 
forefathers came into Egypt from another country, as the 
fact was, nor give a true account of their departure thence; 
and indeed the Egyptians took many occasions to hate us and 
envy us; in the first place because our ancestors had had 
the dominion over their country, and when they were delivered 
from them, and had gone to their own country, they lived 
there in prosperity. In the next place, the difference of our 
religion from theirs had occasioned great enmity between us, 
while our way of divine worship did as much exceed that which 
their laws appointed, as does the nature of God exceed that 
of brute beasts; for so far they all agree through the whole 
country, to esteem such animals as gods, although they differ 
from one another in the peculiar worship they severally pay 
to them; and certainly they are entirely of vain and foolish 
minds, who have thus accustomed themselves from the be- 


1The command was not carried out. (Tr.) 


20 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


ginning to have such bad notions concerning their gods and 
could not think of imitating that decent form of divine worship 
which we made use of, though, when they saw our institutions 
approved of by many others, they could not but envy us on 
that account; for some of them have proceeded to that degree 
of folly and meanness in their conduct, as not to scruple to 
contradict their own ancient records, nay, to contradict them- 
selves also in their writings, and yet were so blinded by their 
passions as not to discern it. 

And I turn to one of their principal writers, whom I have 
a little made use of as a witness to our antiquity: I mean 
Manetho. He promised to interpret the Egyptian history 
out of their sacred writings, and premised thus: that “our 
people had come into Egypt, many ten thousands in numbers, 
and subdued its inhabitants”; and he further confessed that 
“we went out of that country afterward, and settled in that 
country which is now called Judza, and there built Jerusalem 
and its Temple.” Now, thus far, he followed his ancient 
records; but after that he permits himself to write that ru- 
mours and reports passed abroad about the Jews, and intro- 
duces incredible narrations, as if he would have the Egyptian 
multitude, that had the leprosy and other distempers, to have 
been mixed with us and condemned to fly out of Egypt to- 
gether with us. . . . (Josephus, Reply to Appion, Book I.) 


THE BEGINNINGS OF THE REBELLION AGAINST ROME 


On the next day, which was the seventh day of the week, 
when the Jews were crowding apace to their synagogue, a 
certain man of Cesarea, of seditious temper, got an earthen 
vessel and set it, with the bottom upward, at the entrance of 
that synagogue, and sacrificed birds. This thing provoked the 
Jews to an incurable degree, because their laws were affronted 
and their place polluted; whereupon the sober and moderate 
part of the Jews thought it proper to have recourse to their 
governors again, while the seditious part, and those that were 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 21 


in the fervour of their youth, were vehemently inflamed to fight. 
The seditious also among the gentiles of Cxsarea stood ready 
for the same purpose, for they had, by agreement, sent the 
man to sacrifice beforehand (as ready to support him), so that 
it soon came to blows. . . . But John and the twelve principal 
men went to Florus, to Sebaste, and made a lamentable com- 
plaint of their case, and besought him to help them; and, with 
all possible decency, put him in mind of the eight talents 
they had given him; but he had them seized upon, and put 
in prison, and accused them for carrying the books of the law 
out of Caesarea. 

As to the citizens of Jerusalem, although they took this 
matter very ill, yet did they restrain their passion; but Florus 
acted herein as if he had been hired, and blew up the war 
into a flame, and sent some to take seventeen talents out of 
the sacred treasure, and pretended that Cesar wanted them. 
At this the people were in confusion immediately, and ran 
together to the Temple, with prodigious clamour, and called 
upon Cesar by name, and besought him to free them from 
the tyranny of Florus. (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, II, XV.) 


THE SACKING OF THE TEMPLE 


So Titus retired into the tower of Antonia, and resolved 
to storm the Temple next day, early in the morning with his 
whole army, and to encamp round about the holy house; but, 
as for that house, God had for certain long ago doomed it 
to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to 
the revolution of the ages: it was the tenth* day of the month 
Lous (Ab) upon which it was formerly burnt by the King 
of Babylon; although these flames took their rise from the 
Jews themselves, and were occasioned by them; for upon 
Titus’s retiring, the seditious lay still for a little while, and 
then attacked the Romans again, when those that guarded 
the holy house fought with those that quenched the fire that 


1 The ninth day, according to Jewish tradition. (Tr.) 


22 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


was burning in the inner court of the Temple; but these 
Romans put the Jews to flight, and proceeded as far as the 
holy house itself. At which time one of the soldiers, without 
staying for any orders, and without any concern or dread 
upon him at so great an undertaking, and hurried on by a 
certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the materials 
that were on fire, and, being lifted up by another soldier, he 
set fire to a golden window, through which there was a pas- 
sage to the rooms that were round about the holy house, on 
the north side of it. As the flames went upward the Jews 
made a mighty clamour, such as so great an affliction required, 
and ran together to prevent it; and now they spared not their 
lives any longer, nor suffered anything to restrain their force, 
since that holy house was perishing, for whose sake it was 
that they kept such a guard about it. 

And now a certain person came running to Titus, and told 
him of this fire, as he was resting himself in his tent after the 
last battle; whereupon he rose up in great haste, and as he was, 
ran to the holy house, in order to have a stop put to the fire; 
after him followed his commanders, and after them followed 
all their legions, in great astonishment; so there was a mighty 
clamour and tumult raised, as was natural upon the disorderly 
motion of so great an army. Then did Cesar, both by calling 
to the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice, and by 
giving a signal to them with his right hand, order them to 
quench the fire; but they did not hear what he said, though 
he spake so loud, having their ears already dinned by a great 
noise another way; nor did they attend to the signal he made 
with his right hand neither, as still some of them were dis- 
tracted with fighting, and others with passion; but as for the 
legions that came running hither, neither any persuasions nor 
any threatenings could restrain their violence, but each one’s 
own passion was his commander at this time; and as they 
were crowding into the Temple together, many of them were 
trampled on by one another, while a great number fell among 
the ruins of the cloisters, which were still hot and smoking, 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 23 


and were destroyed in the same miserable way with those whom 
they had conquered. And when they were come near the 
holy house, they made as if they did not so much as hear 
Czsar’s orders to the contrary; but they encouraged those that 
were before them to set it on fire. As for the seditious, they 
were already in too great distress to afford their assistance 
toward quenching the fire, and they were everywhere slain 
and everywhere beaten;.and as for a great part of the people, 
they were weak and without arms, and had their throats cut 
wherever they were caught. Now, round about the altar lay 
dead bodies heaped upon one another; as at the steps going 
to it ran a great quantity of blood, whither also the dead bodies 
of those that were slain on the altar above rolled down. 
And now, since Cesar was in no way able to restrain the 
enthusiastic fury of his soldiers, and the fire proceeded on 
more and more, he went into the holy place of the Temple, 
with his commanders, and saw it, with what was in it, which 
he found to be far superior to what the relations of foreigners 
contained, and not inferior to what we ourselves boasted and 
believed of it; but as the flames had not yet reached to the 
inward parts, but were still consuming the rooms that were 
round about the holy house, and Titus supposing what the 
fact was, that the house itself might yet be saved, he came 
in haste and endeavoured to persuade the soldiers to quench 
the fire, and gave orders to Liberalius the centurion, and one 
of those spearmen that were about him, to beat the soldiers 
that were refractory with their staves, and restrain them! 
Yet were their passions too hard for the regard which they 
had for Cesar, and the dread they had for him who forbade 
them, as was their hatred for the Jews, and a certain vehement 
inclination to fight them, too hard for them also. Moreover, 
the hope of plunder induced many of them to go on, as having 
this opinion, that all the places within were full of money, and 
as seeing that all round about it was made of gold; and besides, 
one of those that went into the place prevented Cesar, when 
he ran out so hastily to restrain the soldiers, and threw the 


24 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


fire upon the hinges of the gate in the dark; whereby the 
flame burst out from within the holy house immediately, when 
the commanders retired and Cesar with them, and when no- 
body any longer forbade those that were without to set fire 
to it; and thus was the holy house burned down without 
Cesar’s approbation. ... 

While the holy house was on fire, everything was plundered 
that came to hand and ten thousand of those that were caught 
were slain; nor was there a commiseration of any age, or any 
reverence of gravity; but children, and old men, and profane 
persons, and priests, were all slain in the same manner; so 
that this war went round all sorts of men, and brought them 
to destruction, and as well those that made supplication for 
their lives, as those that defended themselves by fighting. 
The flame was also carried a long way and made an echo, 
together with the groans of those that were slain; and because 
this hill was high, and the works at the Temple were very great, 
one would have thought that the whole city was on fire. Nor 
can any one imagine anything either greater or more terrible 
than this noise; for there was at once a shout of the Roman 
legions, who were marching all together, and a sad clamour of 
the seditious, who were now surrounded with fire and sword. 
The people also that were left above were beaten back upon 
the enemy, and under a great consternation, and made sad 
moans at the calamity they were under; the multitude also 
that was in the city joined in this outcry with those that 
were upon the hill; and besides many of those that were worn 
away with the famine, and their mouths almost closed when 
they saw the fire of the holy house, they exerted their utmost 
strength, and broke out into groans and outcries again; Perea 
did also return the echo as well as the mountains round about 
the city, and augmented the force of the entire noise. Yet 
was the misery itself more terrible than the disorder, for one 
would have thought that the hill itself, upon which the Temple 
stood, was seething hot, as full of fire on every part of it, 
that the blood was larger in quantity than the fire and those 


HISTORY AND LEGEND ph 


that were slain more in number than those that slew them; 
for the ground did nowhere appear visible, for the dead bodies 
that lay upon it: but the soldiers went over the heaps of these 
bodies, as they ran upon such as fled from them. (Josephus, 
Wars of the Jews, V-VI.) 


Chapter II 
RELIGION AND MORALITY 
THE SYMBOLS OF THE TEMPLE 


THE holy house, which was placed in the midst of the inmost 
court, was reached by twelve steps; and in front its height 
and its breadth were equal, and each an hundred cubits, though 
it was thirty cubits narrower behind, for in front it had what 
might be styled shoulders on each side, that passed twenty 
cubits farther. Its first gate was seventy cubits high and 
twenty-five cubits broad: but this gate had no doors; for it 
represented the universal visibility of heaven and that it can- 
not be excluded from any place. Its front was covered with 
gold all over, and through it the first part of the house, that 
was more inward, did all of it appear; which, as it was very 
large, so did all the parts about the more inward gate appear 
to shine to those that saw them; but then, as the entire house 
was divided into two parts within, it was only the first part 
of it that was open to our view. Its height extended all along 
to ninety cubits in height, and its length was fifty cubits, and 
its breadth twenty; but that gate, which was at this end of 
the first part of the house, was all covered with gold, as was 
its whole wall about it; it had also golden vines above it, from 
which clusters of grapes hung, as tall as man’s height; but 
then this house, as it was divided into two parts, the inner 
part was lower than the appearance of the outer and had 
golden doors of twenty-five cubits altitude, and sixteen in 
breadth; but before these doors there was a veil of equal 
largeness with the doors. It was a Babylonian curtain, em- 
broidered with blue and fine linen, and scarlet and purple, and 


of a contexture that was truly wonderful. Nor was this mix- 
26 


RELIGION AND MORALITY 27 


ture of colours without mystical interpretation; but was a kind 
of image of the universe: for by the scarlet there seemed to 
be enigmatically signified fire, by the fine flax the earth, by 
the blue the air and by the purple the sea. The curtain had 
also embroidered on it all that was mystical in the heavens, 
excepting that of the twelve signs, representing living crea- 
PUIDES Isao 

Now in this part of the Temple there were three things that 
were very wonderful and famous among all mankind: the can- 
dlestick, the table of shewbread and the altar of incense. 
Now the seven lamps signified the seven planets; for so many 
there were springing out of the candlestick. Now, the twelve 
loaves that were upon the table signified the circle of the 
Zodiac and the year; but the altar of incense, by its thirteen 
kinds of sweet-smelling spices with which the sea replenished 
it, signified that God is possessor of all things that are both 
in the uninhabitable and habitable parts of the earth, and that 
they are all to be dedicated to His use. But the inmost part 
of the Temple of all was twenty cubits. This was separated 
from the outer part by a veil. In this there was nothing at 
all. It was inaccessible and inviolable and not to be seen by 
any; and was called the Holy of Holies. Now about the sides 
of the lower part of the Temple there were little houses, with 
passages out of one into the other; there were a great many 
of them and they were three stories high; there were also 
entrances on each side into them from the gate of the Temple. 

Now the outward face of the Temple in its front lacked 
nothing that was likely to surprise either men’s minds or their 
eyes; for it was covered all over with plates of gold of great 
weight, and, at the first rising of the sun, reflected back a 
very fiery splendour, and made those that forced themselves 
to look upon it to turn their eyes away, just as they would 
have done at the sun’s own rays. But the Temple appeared 
to strangers, when they were at a distance, like a mountain 
covered with snow, for those parts of it that were not gilt, they 
were exceeding white. (Josephus, Wars of the Jews.) 


28 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


SIMON THE HIGH PRIEST 


Simon the High Priest, the son of Onias, who in his life 
repaired the house again, and in his days fortified the Temple: 
how was he honoured in the midst of the people in his coming 
out of the sanctuary! He was as the morning star in the 
midst of a cloud, and as the moon at the full: as the sun 
shining upon the Temple of the Most High, and as the rain- 
bow giving light in the bright clouds; and as the flower of 
roses in the spring of the year, as the lilies by the rivers of 
waters, and as the branches of the frankincense tree in the 
time of the summer; as fire and incense in the censer, and as 
a vessel of beaten gold set with all manner of precious stones; 
and as a fair olive tree budding forth fruit, and as a cypress 
tree which groweth up to the clouds. When he put on the 
robe of honour, and was clothed with the perfection of glory, 
when he went up to the holy altar, he made the garment of 
holiness honourable. When he took the portions out of the 
priests’ hands, he himself stood by the hearth of the altar, 
compassed with his brethren round about, as a young cedar 
in Libanus, and as palm-trees compassed they him round 
about. So were all the sons of Aaron in their glory, and the 
oblations of the Lord in their hands, before all the congrega- 
tion of Israel. 

And finishing the service at the altar, that he might adorn 
the offering of the most high Almighty, he stretched forth his 
hand to the cup, and poured out the blood of the grape; he 
poured out at the foot of the altar a sweet-smelling savour 
unto the most high King of all. Then shouted the sons of 
Aaron and sounded the silver trumpets, and made a great 
noise to be heard, for a remembrance before the Most High. 

Then all the people together hasted, and fell down to the 
earth upon their faces to worship the Lord God Almighty, the 
Most High. The singers also sang praises with their voices; 
with great variety of sounds was there made sweet melody. 
And the people besought the Lord, the Most High, by prayer 


RELIGION AND MORALITY 29 


before him that is merciful, till the solemnity of the Lord 
was ended, and they had finished his service. 

Then he went down and lifted up his hands over the whole 
congregation of the Children of Israel, to give the blessing of 
the Lord with his lips, and to rejoice in his name. (Ecclesias- 
ticus 50.) 


THE FESTIVAL OF FIRST FRUITS 


In what manner were the tributes of first fruits brought to 
Jerusalem? All the inhabitants of the villages within a cer- 
tain district would come together in the chief town, and would 
spend the night in the open spaces of the town, without enter- 
ing any house. Early in the morning one of their chiefs would 
say: “Come, let us go up toward Zion, towards the House of 
the Eternal, our God.” ‘Those that lived close by brought 
fresh figs and bunches of grapes: and those that lived at a 
distance brought dried figs and raisins. An ox marched be- 
fore them on the way, his horns painted with gold and 
crowned with a wreath of olive, and a flute went before and 
played till they came to the outskirts of Jerusalem. Forth- 
with they sent messengers to precede them, and crowned their 
first fruits. The messengers of the Priests and Levites and 
the Masters of the Treasury came forth to meet them, in 
numbers suitable to the dignity of the pilgrims; as they went 
by through the streets, the craftsmen of Jerusalem rose to 
their feet and greeted them: “Brothers, be welcome.” The 
flute took up its playing again till they reached the Mount 
of the Temple. Then each one of them, including King 
Agrippa, put his basket on his shoulder and carried it as far 
as the court of the sanctuary. And as the procession entered 
they heard the singing of the Levites: “I will exalt Thee, Lord, 
for Thou hast raised me out of the deeps.” (Bikkurim.) 


30 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


THE SYNAGOGUE OF ALEXANDRIA 


He who has not seen the double gallery, in Alexandria, 
Egypt, has not seen Israel in his glory. It was built like a 
great basilica, with one gallery within the other. Sixty 
myriads of men were sometimes assembled therein, as many 
as once went out of Egypt, and even double that number, it 
is said; and for the seventy-one elders there were seventy-one 
thrones of gold, each of which had cost not less than twenty- 
five myriads of gold deniers. In the centre there was a ros- 
trum of wood, and the Chazan stood there holding a flag: 
and at every passage which called for the response of Amen, 
he would give the signal with his flag, and the entire people 
would chant: “Amen.” The faithful did not take their places 
in disorder. The jewellers had their place, the silversmiths 
theirs, the coppersmiths theirs, and so it was with the miners 
and the weavers. And when a stranger or a poor man entered, 
he recognized at once the brothers of his profession, and ad- 
dressed himself to them, and received succour for himself and 
his family. (Succa.) 


THE BENEDICTION OF THE PRIESTS 


God, our God, and the God of our fathers, do Thou bless 
us with the threefold blessing of that Torah which was written 
by the hand of Moses and pronounced by the lips of Aaron 
and the priests his sons on the people sanctified to Thee: The 
Lord bless thee and keep thee; the Lord make His face to 
shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee; the Lord turn His 
countenance unto thee and give thee peace. (The Prayer- 
Book.) 


EVENING PRAYER 


Cantor: Bless ye the Lord, for ever blessed. 
Congregation: Blessed be the Lord, the blessed for ever 
and ever. 


RELIGION AND MORALITY 31 


Blessed art Thou, O God, King of the Universe, Who with 
Thy word bringest twilight on, Who with Thy wisdom openest 
the gates of night, Who with Thy understanding givest change 
and revolution to the seasons: Thou orderest the appointed 
motion of the stars in heaven according to Thy will, creating 
day and night, that the darkness may be rolled away before 
the light, and the light rolled away before the darkness. He 
that bringeth on the setting of the day and the coming on of 
night, and divideth the twain—the Lord of Hosts is His name, 
the Living, the Potent God, and He shall reign over us for 
ever and evermore. 

Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Who bringest on the twilight. 

This was an eternal love Thou gavest to the House of 
Israel, Thy people, teaching them Thy Torah, laws, statutes 
and commandments. And they shall be on our lips, O God 
our God, when we lie down to sleep and when we rise. We 
will be happy to the end of all time in these Thy Command- 
ments, for to us they are life itself and the prolongation of 
our days. Day and night shall we meditate upon them, that 
for evermore Thy love shall not be turned away from us. 

Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Who lovest Thy people, Israel. 
(The Prayer-Book.) 


MORNING PRAYER 


Cantor: Bless ye the Lord, for ever blessed. j 

Congregation: Blessed be the Lord, the blessed for ever and 
ever. 

Blessed art Thou, O Lord, King of the Universe, who didst 
fashion the light and create the darkness, Who didst make 
peace, Who didst create all things. 

Out of Thy compassion didst thou illumine the world and 
them that dwell therein, out of Thy goodness Thou renewest 
daily the work of creation. Multitudinous are Thy creations, 
and all of them conceived in wisdom, and the earth is filled 
with Thy possessions. Thou alone art exalted King, Thou 


32 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


alone art extolled and glorified from the beginning of time. 
Lord of the world, in Thine infinite compassion be compas- 
sionate with us. God of our strength, rock of our fortress! 
be Thou the shield. of our deliverance, be Thou our defence. 
Thou, the Blessed, the infinitely Wise, Thou hast understood 
and wrought the splendour of the sun: Thou, the Blessed, the 
infinitely Good, Thou hast created for the glory of Thy name. 
Thou hast surrounded with light the places of Thy strength; 
among Thy hosts exalting Thee, the Holy Ones, Almighty, 
repeat unceasingly Thy sanctity and glory. Be Thou blessed, 
O Lord our God, because of the blessed work of Thy hands, 
because of the shining brightnesses Thou hast created: they 
shall glorify Thee for ever. 

Be Thou blessed, our Rock, our King, our Redeemer. The 
Holy Ones, O King, will praise Thy name for ever. Thou 
didst create the attendant angels, and now they stand in high 
places of glory, and their voices are heard like one voice, utter- 
ing the words of the Living God, the King of the Universe. 
All of them are beloved, all of them are pure, all of them 
are mighty, and all of them perform, in reverence and terror, 
the will of their Master. On the lips of all of them are sanc- 
tity and purity, eternal song and melody, glorifying Thee, 
sanctifying Thee and proclaiming Thee King. 

God, the King, the great, the terrible, the mighty, He alone 
is holy. 

And all of them, each from each, take upon themselves the 
yoke of the kingdom of heaven, and each calls to each to 
sanctify their Creator, in joy and in purity. And with a 
single voice they cry, and in fear proclaim: Holy, holy, holy 
is the Lord of Hosts, earth is filled with His glory. The 
Ophanim, the Hayoth Ha-Kodesh, with a great rushing sound, 
lift up their voices over against the Seraphim, and say: From 
this His place let the glory of God be blessed. They give 
forth songs of delight to the King, the living and the potent 
God. They utter melodies that His praise might be heard; 
Worker in mightiness, Creator of newness, Lord of battles, 


RELIGION AND MORALITY 33 


Sower of righteousness, Bringer of salvation, Creator of cures, 
Lord of wonders, terrible in praise, daily renewing in good- 
ness the works of creation. For it is said: Praise to the 
Maker of the great stars, for His mercy is everlasting; Thou 
wilt light a new glory over Zion, and it shall be given us all 
to delight in its splendour. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Creator 
of the stars. | 

God, our God, Thou hast loved us with a great love, and on 
us Thou hast poured a great and ever greater mercy. Our 
Father, our King, because of our forefathers, who trusted in 
Thee, and Thou didst teach them the laws of the way of the 
life, because of them, be Thou gracious unto us, and teach us 
also. Father, merciful Father, be merciful unto us, and open 
our hearts to understanding and wisdom, that we may hear 
and learn and teach, that we may listen and obey and fulfil 
in love the words of Thy Torah. Light our eyes with the 
light of Thy Torah, cause our hearts to cleave to Thy com- 
mandments, unite our hearts in the love and terror of Thy 
name, that confusion may never be ours. For we have placed 
our trust in Thy name, Thy great and holy and terrible name, 
and joy and delight will be ours in Thy salvation. Bring us 
again in peace from the four corners of the earth, back in 
safety to our land. . . . For Thou art the Lord who worketh 
salvation, and Thou hast chosen us from among all tongues 
and nations, and brought us close to Thee, and to Thy great 
name, that we may praise Thee and proclaim Thy unity in love. 
Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Who hast chosen Thy people Israel 
with love. (The Prayer-Book.) 


SHEMONEH ESREH (THE PRAYER OF THE EIGHTEEN 
BENEDICTIONS ) 


Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God and the God of our 
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob and the God 
of Isaac, the great, the mighty and terrible God, Thou Who 
art gracious in goodness, to Whom all belongs. Thou re- 


34 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


memberest the merit of the fathers, and bringest salvation to 
the sons of men, in love and for Thy name’s sake. Thou 
art King and Saviour; Blessed art Thou, Shield of Abraham. 
Thou, O Lord, art for ever mighty; Thou bringest the dead 
to life and art infinite in salvation. In Thy compassion Thou 
sustainest life, in Thy graciousness Thou restorest the dead; 
Thou supportest those that fall, Thou healest the sick, Thou 
enlargest the chains of the prisoner, and keepest faith with 
those that sleep in the dust. Who is like unto Thee, a 
Lord of might, who can be likened unto Thee, Who restorest 
the dead and bringest forth salvation? . . . Holy art Thou 
and Thy name is holy, and day by day the Holy Ones will 
praise thee for ever. Blessed art Thou, O God of holiness. 

Thou bestowest knowledge on man, and teachest him un- 
derstanding. Grant us knowledge, understanding and wisdom. 
Blessed art Thou, O Lord, bestower of knowledge. 

Turn us again, our Father, to Thy Torah, and draw us 
near, O King, to Thy service, and bring us to Thee again in 
complete repentance. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Who desirest 
the penitent. 

Forgive us, our Lord, for we have sinned, pardon us, O 
King, for we have transgressed, for Thou forgivest and par- 
donest. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Who forgivest greatly in 
graciousness. 

Look thou upon our wretchedness and take up our cause, 
deliver us soon, for Thy name’s sake, for Thou art mighty 
in deliverance. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, deliverer of Israel. 

Heal us, O Lord, that we may be healed, and redeem us, 
that we may be redeemed: and send down the cure for all our 
ills, for Thou art the King that heals, the faithful and merci- 
ful King. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Who healest the sick of 
Thy people Israel. 

Bless this year for us, O Lord our God, and all the fruits 
of this year, and let Thy blessing rest upon the face of earth. 
Satisfy us with Thy goodness, and bless this year as one of 


RELIGION AND MORALITY 35 


the good years. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Who blessest the 
years. | 

Let the great trumpet peal for our liberation, and lift up a 
banner to gather our exiles, and gather us from the four corners 
of earth. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who gatherest the out- 
casts of Thy people Israel. .. . 

And for them that slander let all hope be darkened, and 
let those that do evil be lost in a flash, and let the vicious 
be destroyed and broken, soon, and in our days. Blessed art 
Thou, O Lord, Who destroyest enemies and humblest the 
vicious. 

But let Thy pity be poured out, O Lord our God, on the 
just and the pious, and on the elders of the house of Israel, 
Thy people, and on the scribes that still remain, and on the 
strangers who are just, and on us. Give Thou good recom- 
pense to those that put their trust in Thy name, and let our 
portion be with them for ever, and we shall not be put to 
shame, for in Thee is our trust. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, 
the stay and comfort of the just. 

And turn again in pity to Jerusalem, Thy city; make Thy 
dwelling-place therein, according to Thy promise. And build 
it soon, in.our days, that it may endure for ever. ... 

Give ear to our voice, O Lord our God, be merciful and 
compassionate, and receive our prayer in mercy and with 
favour, for Thou art the God Who receivest prayer and sup- 
plication, and let us not be turned back empty from before 
Thee, for Thou hearest with compassion the prayers of Thy 
people Israel. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Who hearkenest 
unto prayer. .... 

Humbly we confess that Thou art the Lord our God and 
the God of our fathers for ever and ever, our Rock and the 
shield of our deliverance, from generation to generation. We 
will thank Thee and recount Thy praises, because of our life 
which is held in Thy hand, because of our souls which Thou 
hast in Thy care, because of Thy miracles which are with us 


36 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


day by day, because of Thy wonders and gifts, evening and 
morning and noon. ... (The Prayer-Book.) 


ALENU 


It is for us to praise the Lord of all, to utter the greatness 
of the Creator of the beginning, that He hath not made us 
like the peoples of the earth nor placed us among the families 
of the world, that our portion is not like theirs and our destiny 
is not in their multitude, and we bow and adore the King of 
Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. For He hath stretched 
out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and 
the dwelling-place of His glory is in the heavens above, and 
the spirit of His strength is beyond all the heights. He is 
our God, and there is none other. Our King is Truth, and 
beside Him there is nothing. As it is written in our Torah: 
And thou shalt know this day, and shalt make it firm in thy 
heart, that the Lord He is God in heaven above and on the 
earth below and there is none other. 

Our hope is therefore in Thee, O Lord our God, that we 
may see Thee soon in the glory of Thy strength, when Thou 
wilt uproot the abominations of the world and destroy the 
idols utterly, and establish a world to be a kingdom of the 
Almighty. Then all things of flesh and blood will invoke Thy 
name, and all the wicked will turn back unto Thee. And all 
those that dwell on earth shall know that to Thee every knee 
must be bent, and by Thee every tongue must swear. Before 
Thee, O Lord, shall they fall and be prostrate, and to Thy 
name shall they utter glory. And they will receive the yoke of 
Thy Kingdom upon themselves, and Thou shalt reign over 
them for ever. For Thine is the Kingdom and for evermore 
shalt Thou reign. As it is written in Thy Torah: The Lord 
will reign for ever and ever. And as it is said: And in that 
day the Lord shall reign over the whole world, and the Lord 
and His name shall be one. (Te Prayer-Book.) 


RELIGION AND MORALITY 37 


THE GREAT PARDON 


Thou stretchest out Thy hand to the transgressor, and Thy 
right hand is open to receive the penitent. Thou hast taught 
us, O Lord, to confess all our sins before Thee, that our 
hands may cease from wickedness. For when we turn to Thee 
in true repentance, Thou wilt receive us as Thou didst receive 
the burnt offerings and the offerings of sweet Spices, because 
of the words Thou hast said. For our sins there should be 
burnt offerings without number, and for our transgressions 
sweet multitudes of spices. But Thou Who knowest that our 
end is the worm, Thou art infinite in forgiveness. What are 
we and what is our life? What is our goodness, our piety, our 
salvation? What is our strength and our might? What shall 
we say before Thee, God, our God and the God of our 
fathers? Is not all strength as nothing before Thee, and all 
mighty men as if they were not? Are not the learned void 
of understanding before Thee, and the wise without wisdom? 
For the greatest part of their work is emptiness, and the days 
of their life are vanity before Thee, and in nothing is man 
more than the beast, for all is vanity. 

But from the beginning didst Thou make a distinction 
for man, and hast favoured him that he might stand before 
Thee. And though he be righteous, what shall he be given? 
But in Thy love Thou hast given us this day of fasting, this 
day of atonement, a boundary, for pardon and forgiveness for 
our sins, that our hands may cease from wickedness, that we 
may turn again to Thee and perform the laws of Thy will 
with all our heart. And Thou, in Thy great mercy, wilt be 
merciful to us, for Thy desire is not to destroy the earth. As 
it is said: Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call upon 
Him while He is near at hand. And it is said: Let the wicked 
abandon his way and the man of sin his thoughts. Let him 
return to God, for He will be merciful to him, to the Lord 
our God, for He forgiveth greatly. And Thou art the God of 


38 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, infinite in 
graciousness and truth and goodness. And Thou desirest the 
repentance of the wicked, and delightest not in slaying them. 
As it is said: And say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, I 
have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but I delight in. 
the repentance of the wicked, when he turns from his ways 
and lives. Return, return from your evil ways, O House of 
Israel, for wherefore should ye die? And it is said: Do I 
desire the death of the wicked? declares the Lord God. Do I 
not desire that he turn from his evil and live? And it is said: 
I have no delight in the death of men, saith the Lord, but in 
those that return and live. For Thou art the pardoner of 
Israel, and dost absolve the tribes of Jeshurun from genera- 
tion to generation, and beside Thee there is none, O King 
Who pardonest and forgivest. (The Prayer-Book.) 


KADDISH (FOR THE DEAD) 


Magnified and sanctified be His great name throughout the 
world which He hath created according to His will: may He 
establish His Kingdom in our days and in the days of the 
whole house of Israel, speedily and soon, and say ye, Amen. 
May His great name be blessed and glorified for ever and ever. 
May His hallowed name be praised, glorified, exalted, magni- 
fied, honoured and adored: blessed is He, beyond all blessings, 
hymns, praises and beatitudes that are uttered throughout 
the world, and say ye, Amen. Receive our prayer in mercy 
and with favour. May the prayers and supplications of all 
the House of Israel be received before the Father Who is in 
heaven, and say ye, Amen. Blessed be the name of the Lord 
from now on and for evermore. May life and the fulness of 
peace be granted unto us and unto all Israel, and say ye, 
Amen. My help is from the Lord, Who made the heavens 
and earth. He that maketh peace in the upper world, may He 
bring peace unto us and unto all Israel, and say ye, Amen. 
(The Prayer-Book.) 


RELIGION AND MORALITY 39 


THE COUNSEL OF A FATHER 


My son, when I am dead, bury me, and despise not thy 
mother, but honour her all the days of thy life, and do that 
which shall please her and grieve her not. Remember, my 
son, that she saw many dangers for thee, when thou wast in 
her womb; and when she is dead, bury her by me in one 
grave. My son, be mindful of the Lord our God all thy 
days, and let not thy will be set to sin or to transgress his 
commandments, and follow not the ways of unrighteous- 
ness.) ye 

Beware of all whoredom, my son, and take a wife of the 
seed of thy fathers, and take not a strange woman to wife, 
which is not of thy father’s tribe, for we are the children of 
the prophets, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: remember, 
my son, that our fathers from the beginning, even that they 
all married wives of their own kindred, and were blessed in 
their children, and their seed shall inherit the land. Now 
therefore, my son, love thy brethren, and despise not in thy 
heart thy brethren, the sons and daughters of thy people, in 
not taking a wife of them; for in pride is destruction and much 
trouble, and in lewdness is decay and great want; for lewd- 
ness is the mother of famine. Let not the wages of any man, 
which hath wrought for thee, tarry with thee, but give it him 
out of hand: for if thou serve God he will also repay thee: 
be circumspect, my son, in all things thou dost, and be wise 
in all thy conversation. Do that to no man which thou hatest: 
drink not wine to make thee drunken; neither let drunken- 
ness go with thee in thy journey. Give of thy bread to the 
hungry, and of thy garments to those that are naked; and 
according to thine abundance give alms; and let not thine eye 
be envious, when thou givest alms. Pour out thy bread on 
the burial of the just, but give nothing to the wicked. Ask 
counsel of all that are wise, and despise not any counsel that 
is profitable. Bless the Lord thy God alway and desire of 
him that thy ways may be directed, and that all thy paths 


40 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


and counsels may prosper; for every nation hath not counsel, 
but the Lord himself giveth all good things, and he humbleth 
whom he will as he will; now therefore, my son, remember my 
commandments, neither let them be put out of thy mind. 
(Tobit 4: 3-19.) 


PEACE OF MIND 


Give not over thy mind to heaviness, and afflict not thy- 
self in thine own counsel. The gladness of the heart is the 
life of man, and the joyfulness of a man prolongeth his days. 
Love thine own soul, and comfort thy heart, remove sorrow 
far from thee: for sorrow hath killed many and there is no 
profit therein. Envy and wrath shorten the life, and care- 
fulness bringeth age before the time. A cheerful and good 
heart will have a care of his meat and diet. Watching for 
riches consumeth the flesh, and the care thereof driveth away 
sleep. Watching care will not let a man slumber, as a sore 
disease breaketh sleep. (Ecclesiasticus 30: 2I—31: 2.) 


MOURNING 


My son, let tears fall down over the dead, and begin to 
lament, as if thou hadst suffered great harm thyself; and then 
cover his body according to the custom and neglect not his - 
burial. Weep bitterly, and make great moan, and use lamenta- 
tion, as he is worthy, and that for a day or two, lest thou be 
evil spoken of: and then comfort thyself for thy heaviness. 
For of heaviness cometh death, and the heaviness of the heart 
breaketh strength. In affliction also sorrow remaineth: and 
the life of the poor is the curse of the heart. Take no heavi- 
ness to heart: drive it away, and remember the last end. For- 
get it not that there is no turning again: thou shalt not do 
him good, but hurt thyself. Remember the sentence upon 
him, for thine shall also be so; yesterday for me and to-day 
for thee. When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest; 


RELIGION AND MORALITY 41 


and be comforted for him, when his spirit is departed from him. 
(Ecclesiasticus 38: 16-23.) 


THY WIFE 


Be not jealous over the wife of thy bosom, and teach her 
not an evil lesson against thyself. Give not thy soul unto a 
woman, to set her foot on thy substance; meet not with an 
harlot Jest thou fall into her snares. Use not much the com- 
pany of a woman that playeth upon instruments, lest thou be 
taken with her attempts. Gaze not on a maid, that thou 
fall not by those things that are precious in her. Give not 
thy soul unto harlots, that thou lose not thine inheritance. 
Look not round about thee in the streets of the city, neither 
wander thou in the solitary places thereof. Turn thine eye 
away from a beautiful woman, and look not upon another’s 
beauty; for many have been deceived by the beauty of a 
woman; for herewith love is kindled as a fire. Sit not at all 
with another man’s wife, nor sit down with”her in thine arms, 
and spend not thy money with her at the wine; lest thine 
heart incline unto her, and so through thy desire thou fall into 
destruction. (Ecclesiasticus 9: 1-9.) 


ALMS 


Water will quench a flaming fire; and alms maketh an atone- 
ment for sins. And he that requiteth good turns is mindful 
of that which may come hereafter; and when he falleth he 
shall find a stay. My son, defraud not the poor of his living, 
and make not the needy eyes to wait long. Make not an 
hungry soul sorrowful; neither provoke a man in his distress. 
Add not more trouble to an heart that is vexed: and defer not 
to give to him that is in need. Reject not the supplication of 
the afflicted; neither turn away thy face from a poor man. 
Turn not away thine eye from the needy, and give him not 
occasion to curse thee: for if he curse thee in the bitterness 


42 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


of his soul, his prayer shall be heard of him that made him. 
Get thyself the love of the congregation, and bow thy head : 
to a great man. Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine 
ear to the poor, and give him a friendly answer with meek- 
ness. Deliver him that suffereth wrong from the hand of the 
oppressor; and be not faint-hearted when thou sittest in judg- 
ment. Be as a father to the fatherless, and instead of an 
husband unto their mother; so shalt thou be as the son of the 
most High, and he shall love thee more than thy mother doth. 
(Ecclesiasticus 3: 30—4: 10.) 


FORGIVENESS 


He that revengeth shall find vengeance from the Lord, and 
he will surely keep his sins in remembrance. Forgive thy 
neighbour the hurt that he hath done unto thee, so shall thy 
sins also be forgiven when thou prayest. One man beareth 
hatred against another, and doth he seek pardon from the 
Lord? He showeth no mercy to a man which is like himself: 
yet doth he ask forgiveness of his own sins. If he that is but 
flesh nourish hatred, who will intreat for pardon of his sins? 
Remember thy end and let enmity cease; remember corrup- 
tion and death, and abide in the commandments. Remember 
the commandments and bear no malice to thy neighbour; re- 
member the covenant of the Highest, and wink at ignorance. 
(Ecclesiasticus 28: 1-7.) 


THE UNTIMELY DEATH OF THE JUST 


But though the righteous be prevented with death, yet shall 
he be in rest. . . . For his soul pleased the Lord, therefore 
hasted he to take him away from among the wicked. This 
the people saw and understood it not, neither laid they up 
this in their minds, that his grace and mercy is with his saints, 
and that he hath respect unto his chosen. Thus the righteous 
that is dead shall condemn the ungodly that are living: and 





RELIGION AND MORALITY 43 


youth that is soon perfected, the many years and old age of 
the unrighteous. For they shall see the end of the wise, and 
shall not see what God in his counsel hath decreed of him, 
and to what end the Lord hath set him in safety. They shall 
see him and despise him, but God shall laugh them to scorn. 
. . » And when they cast up the account of their sins, they 
shall come with fear: and their own iniquities shall convince 
them to their face. Then shall the righteous man stand in 
great boldness before the face of such as have afflicted him, 
and made no account of his labours.. When they shall see it 
they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed 
at the strangeness of his salvation. (Wisdom of Solomon 


4: 7—5: 2.) 


THE HANDING DOWN OF THE TRADITION 


Moses received the Torah on Sinai and handed it down to 
Joshua; Joshua to the elders; the elders to-the Prophets; and 
the Prophets handed it down to the members of the Great 
Synagogue. They said three things: be deliberate in judgment, 
raise up many disciples, and put a fence round the Torah. 

Simon the Just was among the last of the members of the 
Great Synagogue; he was wont to say: “The world is sus- 
tained by three things, the Torah, sacred service and the 
practice of charity.” 

Antigonos of Socho received the tradition from Simon the 
Just. He was wont to say: “Ye shall not be like servants who 
serve their master for the sake of hire: ye shall be like 
servants who serve their master not for the sake of hire. 
Let the fear of God be with you. .. .” 

Rabbi Jehusa the son of Tabbi, and Simon the son of 
Shetach, in turn handed down the tradition to Shemaya and 
Abtalion. Shemaya said: “Love work, hate lordship and do 
not ingratiate yourself with those in authority.” Abtalion 
said: “Ye sages, be guarded in your words, lest ye incur the 
penalty of exile, and be exiled to a place of evil waters, and 


44 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


the disciples who come after you drink of these waters, and 
die, and the name of God will be profaned.” 

Shemaya and Abtalion handed on the tradition to Hillel and 
Shammai. (Pirke Aboth, I.) 


THE PHARISEES 


The Pharisees are those that are esteemed most skilful in 
the exact explication of our laws and ceremonies. ‘They as- 
cribe all to fate or providence and to God, and yet allow that 
to act what is right, or the contrary, is principally in the power 
of men, although fate does co-operate in every action. They 
say that all souls are incorruptible, but that the souls of good 
men are only removed into other bodies—but that the souls 
of bad men are subject to eternal punishment. 


THE SADDUCEES 


The Sadducees take away fate entirely and suppose that 
God is not concerned in our doing or not doing what is evil; 
and they say that to act what is good or what is evil is at 
men’s own choice and that the one or the other belongs so 
to every one, that they may act as they please. They also 
take away the belief of the immortal duration of the soul and 
the punishments and rewards in Hades. The Pharisees are 
friendly toward one another, and are for the exercise of con- 
cord and regard of the public; but the behaviour of the 
Sadducees one toward another is somewhat wild; and their 
conversation toward those that are of their own party is as 
barbarous as if they were strangers to them. 


THE ESSENES 


The Essenes are Jews by birth, and seem to have a greater 
affection for one another than the other sects have. The 
Essenes reject pleasures as an evil, but esteem continence, and 


i 


RELIGION AND MORALITY 45 


the conquest over our passions, to be virtue. They neglect 
wedlock, but choose out other persons’ children, while they 
are pliable and fit for learning: and esteem them to be of 
their own kindred and form them according to their own 
manners. They do not absolutely deny the fitness of mar- 
riage, and the succession of mankind thereby continued; but 
they guard against the lascivious behaviour of women, and 
are persuaded that none of them preserve their fidelity to 
one man. 

These men are despisers of riches, and so very communica- 
tive as to raise our admiration. Nor is there any one to be 
found among them who hath more than another; for it is a 
law among them that those who come to them must let what 
they have be common to the whole order,—insomuch that 
among them all there is no appearance of poverty or excess 
of riches, but every one’s possessions are intermingled with 
every other’s possessions; and so there is, as it were, one pat- 
rimony among all the brethren... .. ~~ 

As for their piety toward God, it is very extraordinary; for 
before sunrising they speak not a word about profane matters, 
but put up certain prayers which they have received from 
their forefathers, as if they made a supplication for its rising. 
After this they are all sent away by their curators, to exercise 
some of those arts wherein they are skilled, in which they 
labour with great diligence till the fifth hour. After which 
they assemble themselves together again in one place; and 
when they have clothed themselves in white veils they then 
bathe their bodies in cold water. And after this purification is 
over, they every one meet together in an apartment of their 
own, into which it is not permitted to any of another sect to 
enter; while they go, after a pure manner, into the dining-room, 
as into a certain temple, and quietly sit themselves down; 
upon which the baker lays before them loaves in order; the 
cook also brings a single plate of one sort of food and sets 
it before every one of them. ... Nor is there ever any 
clamour or disturbance to pollute their house, but they give 


46 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


every one leave to speak in their turn; which silence thus 
kept in their house appears to foreigners like some tremendous 
mystery, the cause of which is that perpetual sobriety they 
exercise, and some settled measure of meat and drink that is 
allotted to them, and that such as is abundantly sufficient for 
jot) 6c Rea 

They dispense their anger after a just manner and restrain 
their passion. They are eminent for fidelity and are the min- 
isters of peace; whatsoever they say also is firmer than an 
oath; but swearing is avoided by them and they esteem it 
worse than perjury; for they say that he who cannot be be- 
lieved without swearing by God is already condemned. 

But if any one hath a mind to come over into their sect, 
he is not immediately admitted, but he is prescribed the same 
method of living which they use, for a year, while he continues 
excluded; and they give him a small hatchet and the girdle 
and the white garment. And when he hath given evidence, 
during that time, that he can observe their continence, he ap- 
proaches nearer to their way of living, and is made a par- 
taker of the waters of purification; yet is he not even now 
admitted to live with them; for after this demonstration of 
his fortitude, his temper is tried two more years, and if he 
appear to be worthy, they then admit him into their society. 
And before he is allowed to touch their common food, he is 
obliged to take tremendous oaths; that in the first place he will 
exercise piety toward God; and then, that he will observe 
justice toward all men; and that he will do no harm to any 
one, either of his own accord or by the command of others; 
that he will always hate the wicked and be assistant to the 
righteous; that he will ever show fidelity to all men, and espe- 
cially to those in authority, nor endeavour to outshine his sub- 
jects either in his garments or any other finery; that he will 
be perpetually a lover of truth and propose to himself to 
reprove those that tell lies; that he will keep his hands clear 
from theft and his soul from unlawful gains. ... 

The Essenes are stricter than other Jews in resting from 


RELIGION AND MORALITY 47 


their Iabours on the seventh day; for they not only get their 
food ready the day before, that they may not be obliged to 
kindle a fire on that day, but they will not remove any vessel 
out of its place, nor satisfy, unless forced, the needs of na- 
a asks . 

They contemn the miseries of life and are above pain, by 
the generosity of their mind. As for death, if it will be for 
their glory, they esteem it better than living always; and in- 
deed our war with the Romans gave abundant evidence what 
great souls they had in their trials, wherein, though they were 
tortured and distorted, burnt and torn to pieces, and went 
through all kinds of instruments of torment, that they might 
be forced either to blaspheme their legislator or to eat what 
was forbidden them, yet could they not be made to do either 
of them, no, nor once to flatter their tormentors, nor to shed 
a tear; but they smiled in their very pains, and laughed those 
to scorn who inflicted the torments upon them, and resigned 
up their souls with great alacrity, as expecting to receive them 
again. 

For their doctrine is this: “That bodies are corruptible and 
the matter they are made of is not permanent; but that the 
souls are immortal and continue for ever; and that they come 
out of the most subtle air, and are united to their bodies as 
in prisons, into which they are drawn by a certain natural 
enticement; but that when they are set free from the bonds of 
the flesh, they then, as released from a long bondage, rejoice 
and mount upward.” (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Il, X.) 


HILLEL (DIED I0 C.E.) 


First Studies 


It is related that Hillel earned half a denier daily by his 
work, and with half of this he kept himself and his family 
while the other half he gave to the porter of the Beth- 
Hamedrish (the House of Study). One day he could find no 
work, and the porter refused him admittance. Thereupon 


48 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


he climbed on to the roof and seated himself by the skylight, 
that he might hear from there the living words of God from 
the lips of Shemaya and Abtalion. It is related that this 
was on the eve of the Sabbath, in the winter month of Tebeth. 
Snow fell from the skies and covered him. When the dawn 
came up Shemaya said to Abtalion: “Abtalion, my brother, 
during the day it is always light in here, but to-day it is dark. 
Is it perhaps a cloud?” They lifted their eyes and saw the 
image of a man against the skylight. And men were sent up, 
and they found Hillel buried under three cubits of snow. 
They brought him down and washed him and tended him and 
seated him near the fire. And they said: “For such a man 
one may even profane the Sabbath.” 


The Gentleness of Hillel 


One man wagered with another that he would put Hillel 
into a rage, and the wager was for four hundred susim. On 
the eve of the Sabbath this man went to the house of Hillel, 
just when Hillel was dressing his hair. He knocked at the 
door and asked: “Is Hillel at home? Is Hillel at home?” 
The sage put on his mantle, led the man in and asked: “‘What 
is your wish, my son?” “I have a question to ask,” replied 
the other. “Ask, my son.” “Why are the heads of the 
Babylonians flat?” ‘A very important question, my son,” 
answered Hillel. “It is because their midwives are unskilful.” 
The man went away, returned an hour later, and cried: “Is 
Hillel at home? Is Hillel at home?” ‘The sage dressed him- 
self hastily, led the man in and asked: “What is your wish, 
my son.’’ “I have a question to ask,” replied the man. 
“Ask.” “Why have the inhabitants of Tadmor [Palmyra] 
diseased eyes?” “An important question, my son. It is be- 
cause they live in a sandy country.” The questioner withdrew, 
returned an hour later, and cried again: “Is Hillel at home? 
Is Hillel at home?” The sage put on his mantle, led the man 
in and said: “What is your wish, my son?” “I have a ques- 
tion to ask. “Ask.” “Why have the Africans large feet?” 


RELIGION AND MORALITY 49 


“A very important question,” answered Hillel. “It is because 
they live in a swampy country.” “I have many questions to 
ask,” said the man, “but I am afraid of angering you.” “I 
want to hear whatever questions you have,” answered Hillel. 
Then the other said: “Are you indeed the Hillel whom they 
of Israel name prince?” “I am he.” “I do not wish them 
many like you.” “And why?” “Because you have made me 
lose four hundred susim.’”’ (Sabbath.) 


Sayings of Hillel 


Hillel said: “Sunder not thyself from the public. Trust not 
in thyself until the day of thy death. Judge not thy neighbour 
until thou hast been in his place. Do not express thyself 
unclearly in the hope of being understood later. Say not: I 
will study when I have leisure: perchance thou wilt have no 
leisure. 

“The fool cannot fear sin, nor can the ignorant man be 
pious. The shy man cannot learn, neither can the passionate 
man teach. He that is too much taken with business cannot 
become wise. In a place where there are no men, try to be 
a man. 

“The more flesh, the more worms; the more wealth, the 
more worry ... the more Torah, the more life; the more 
study, the more wisdom; the more charity, the more peace; he 
who gets himself a good name, gets it for this life: he that 
gets himself the words of the Torah gets himself eternal life.” 
(Pirke Aboth Il, 4-7.) 


The School of Hillel and the School of Shammai 


The Rabbis taught: “Be gentle, like Hillel, not violent, 
like Shammai.” An idolater came before Shammai and asked: 
“How many kinds of law have you?” “Two,” was the an- 
swer; “the written and the oral.” “I accept the first,” replied 
the pagan, “but I reject the other. Receive me into Judaism, 
on condition that you teach me only the written Jaw.” 
Shammai insulted him and sent him off. The idolater went to 


50 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


Hillel with the same request. The master accepted. The 
first day he taught him the alphabet, and the second day he 
began the letters again, but in different order. “But you 
taught me this in a different order yesterday,” said the pagan. 
“So you trusted me?” said Hillel. “Is not that trusting the 
oral law?” 

Another pagan came before Shammai and said: “TI will be- 
come a Jew: but you must teach me the whole of the law 
while I can stand on one leg.”” Shammai struck him with the 
ruler he held in his hand, and sent him off. The idolater ad- 
dressed himself to Hillel with the same request, and the master 
answered: “That which you would not have others do unto 
you, do not do unto others. This is the whole of the Law. 
The rest is but commentary. Go and learn it.” (Sabbath.) 

For three years the schools of Hillel and Shammai disputed, 
each one claiming “Our decisions are the Law.” Finally a 
voice was heard from heaven: “Both these and these are the 
words of the living God: but only the words of Hillel are the 
Law.” But if both were the words of the living God, then 
why were the words of Hillel alone found worthy of being 
the Law? Because the followers of Hillel were gentle and 
patient, and they taught, together with their own views, the 
views of Shammai. More—they even taught the views of the 
school of Shammai before they taught their own... . And 
this teaches that he who humbles himself exalts God; he that 
exalts himself, humbles God. He that pursues greatness, 
greatness flees from him: and he that flees from greatness, 
greatness pursues him. (Erubin.) 


Chapter II] 
APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE 
THE DWELLING-PLACE OF GOD 


AND the vision was shown to me thus: Behold, in the vision 
clouds invited me, and a mist summoned me, and the course 
of the stars and lightnings hastened me, and the winds in the 
vision caused me to fly and lifted me upward, and bore me 
into heaven. And I went in till I drew nigh to a wall which 
is built of crystals and surrounded by tongues of fire: and 
it began to affright me. And I went into the tongues of fire 
and drew nigh to a large house which was built of crystals: 
and the walls of the house were like’a tessellated floor of 
crystals, and its groundwork was of crystal. Its ceiling was 
like the path of the stars, and the lightnings, and between 
them were fiery cherubim, and their heaven was as clear as 
water. A flaming sword surrounded the walls, and its portals — 
blazed with fire. And I entered that house, and it was hot 
as fire and cold as ice; there were no delights of life therein, 
and trembling got hold upon me. And as I quaked and trem- 
bled I fell upon my face. And I beheld a vision, and lo, there 
was a second house, greater than the former, and the entire 
portal stood open before me, and it was built of flames of 
fire. And in every respect it so excelled in splendour and 
magnificence and extent, that I cannot describe to you its 
splendour and extent. And its floor was of fire and above 
it were lightnings, and the path of the stars, and its ceiling 
also was flaming fire. And I looked and saw therein a lofty 
throne; its appearance was as crystal, and the wheels thereof 


as the shining sun, and there was the vision of cherubim. 
51 


ye THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


And from underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire 
so that I could not look thereon. And the Great Glory sat 
thereon, and His raiment shone more brightly than the sun 
and was whiter than any snow. None of the angels could 
enter and behold His face by reason of the magnificence and 
glory, and no flesh could behold Him. The flaming fire was - 
round about Him, and a great fire stood before Him, and 
none around could draw nigh Him: ten thousand times ten 
thousand stood before Him, yet he needed no counsellor. 
And the most holy ones who were nigh to Him did not leave 
by night nor depart from Him. And until then I had been 
prostrate on my face, trembling: and the Lord called unto me 
with His own mouth, and said to me: Come hither, Enoch, and 
hear my word. And one of the holy ones came to me and 
waked me, and He made me rise up and approach the door; 
and I bowed my face downwards. (The Book of Enoch, 
14: 8-25.) 


THE ABODE OF THE ELECT ONE, THE MESSIAH 


And in those days a whirlwind carried me off from the 
earth, and set me down at the end of the heavens. And there 
I saw another vision, the dwelling-places of the holy, and the 
resting-places of the righteous. Here mine eyes saw their 
dwellings with the righteous angels, and their resting-places 
with the holy. And they petitioned and interceded and prayed 
for the children of men, and righteousness flowed before them 
as water, and mercy like dew upon the earth; thus it is 
amongst them for ever and ever. And in that place mine 
eyes saw the Elect One of righteousness and of faith, and I 
saw his dwelling-place under the wings of the Lord of Spirits. 
And righteousness shall prevail in his days, and the righteous 
and elect shall be without number before Him for ever and 
ever. And all the righteous and elect before him shall be 
Strong as fiery lights, and their mouth shall be full of blessing, 
and their lips extol the name of the Lord of Spirits, and 


APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE 53 


righteousness before Him shall never fail. There I wished to 
dwell, and my spirit longed for that dwelling-place: and there 
heretofore has been my portion, for so has it been established 
concerning me before the Lord of Spirits... . For a long 
time my eyes regarded that place, and I blessed Him and 
praised Him, saying: Blessed is He, and may He be blessed 
from the beginning and for evermore. . ae 

And after that I saw thousands of thousands and ten thou- 
sand times ten thousand, I saw a multitude beyond number 
and reckoning, who stood before the Lord of Spirits. And 
on the four sides of the Lord of Spirits I saw four presences, 
different from those that sleep not, and I learnt their names: 
for the angel that went with me made known to me their 
names, and showed me all the hidden things. And I heard 
the voices of those four presences as they uttered praises be- 
fore the Lord of Glory. The first voice blesses the Lord of 
Spirits for ever and ever. And the second voice I heard 
blessing the Elect One and the elect ones: who hang upon the 
Lord of Spirits. And the third voice I heard pray and inter- 
cede for those who dwell on the earth and supplicate in the 
name of the Lord of Spirits. And I heard the fourth voice 
fending off the Satans and forbidding them to come before 
the Lord of Spirits to accuse them who dwell on the earth. 
After that I asked the angel of peace who went with me, who 
Showed me everything that is hidden: “Who are those four 
presences which I have seen and whose words T have heard 
and written down?” And he said to me: “The first is Michael, 
the merciful and long-suffering: and the second, who is set 
over all the diseases and all the wounds of the children of 
men, is Raphael: and the third, who is set above all the powers, 
is Gabriel; and the fourth, who is set over the repentance unto 
hope of those who inherit eternal life, is named Phanuel.” 
And these are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits and the 
four voices I heard in those days. (The Book of Enoch, 
39: 3—40: 10.) 


54 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


MAN ABOVE THE ANGELS 


And with a heavy sigh, the devil spoke: O Adam! All 
my hostility, envy and sorrow is for thee, since it is for thee 
that I have been expelled from my glory, which I possessed 
in the heavens in the midst of the angels and for thee was I 
cast out in the earth. And Adam answered: What dost thou 
tell me? What have I done. to thee or what is my fault 
against thee? Seeing that thou hast received no harm or in- 
jury from us, why dost thou pursue us? 

The devil replied: Adam, what dost thou tell me? It is 
for thy sake that I have been hurled from that place. When 
thou wast formed I was hurled out of the presence of God 
and banished from the company of the angels. When God 
blew into thee the breath of life and thy face and likeness 
was made in the image of God, Michael also brought thee and 
made us worship thee in the sight of God; and God the Lord 
spoke: Here is Adam. I have made thee in our image and 
likeness. 

And Michael went out and called all the angels, say- 
ing: Worship the image of God as the Lord God hath com- 
manded. 

And Michael himself worshipped; then he called me and 
said: Worship the image of God the Lord. And I answered: 
I have no need to worship Adam. And since Michael kept 
urging me to worship, I said to him: But why dost thou urge 
me? I will not worship an inferior and younger being. I am 
his senior in the Creation, before he was made was I already 
made. It is his duty to worship me. 

When the angels who were under me heard this, they refused 
to worship him. And Michael saith: Worship the image of 
God, but if thou wilt not worship him, the Lord will be wroth 
with thee. And I said: If he be wroth with me I will set my 
seat above the stars of heaven and will be the Highest. 

And God the Lord was wroth with me and banished me 
and my angels from our glory; and on thy account were we 


APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE 55 


expelled from our abodes into this world and hurled on the 
earth. And straightway we were overcome with grief, since 
we had been spoiled of so great glory. And we were grieved 
when we saw thee in such joy and luxury. And with guile 
I cheated thy wife and caused thee to be expelled through her 
doing from thy joy and luxury, as I have been driven out of 
my glory. (The Lives of Adam and Eve, 12-16.) 


THE FALL OF THE ANGELS 


And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied 
that in those days were born unto them comely and beautiful 
daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw 
and lusted after them, and said to one another: Come, let 
us choose wives from among the children of men and beget 
us children. And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto 
them: I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I 
alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin. And they 
all answered and said: Let us all swear an oath, and all bind 
ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan 
but to do this thing. Then sware they all together and bound 
themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were 
in all two hundred who descended in the days of Jared on 
the summit of Mount Hermon... . 

And they all took unto themselves wives, and each chose 
for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to 
defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms 
and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and they made 
them acquainted with plants. And they became pregnant 
and they bare great giants, whose height was three hundred 
ells, who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when 
man could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against 
them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against 
birds and beasts and reptiles and fish, and to devour one 
another’s flesh, and drink the blood. The earth laid accusa- 
tion against the lawless ones. 


56 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


And Azazel taught men to make swords and knives and 
shields and breastplates, and made known to them all the 
metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets 
and ornaments, and the use of antimony and the beautifying of 
the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring 
tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they com- 
mitted fornication, and were led astray and became corrupt 
in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments and root- 
cuttings, Armaros taught the resolving of enchantments, 
Baraqijal, astrology, Kokabel, the constellations, Ezeqeel, the 
knowledge of the clouds, Araqeel, the signs of the earth, 
Shamsiel, the signs of the sun, and Sariel, the course of the 
moon. And as men perished they cried, and their cry went 
up to heaven. . . . (The Book of Enoch 6: 1—8: 4.) 


SHEOL, OR THE UNDERWORLD 


And thence I went to another place, and he showed me in 
the west another great and high mountain of hard rock. And 
there were four hollow places in it, deep and very smooth; 
three of them were dark and one bright, and there was a 
fountain of water in its midst. And I said: How smooth are 
these hollow places, and deep and dark to view. Then 
Raphael answered one of the holy angels who was with me, 
and said unto me: These hollow places have been created for 
this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead 
should assemble therein, yea, that all the souls of the children 
of men should assemble here. And these places have been 
made to receive them till the day of their judgement and till 
their appointed period, till the great judgement comes upon 
them. 

I saw the spirits of the children of men who were dead, 
and their voice went forth to heaven and made suit. Then 
I asked Raphael the angel who was with me, and said unto 
him: This spirit, whose is it, whose voice goeth forth and 
maketh suit? 

And he answered me, saying: This is the spirit which went 


APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE 57 


forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew, and he makes 
his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from the face 
of the earth, and his seed is annihilated from amongst the 
seed of men. 

Then I asked regarding all the hollow places: Why is one 
separated from the other? 

And he answered me, saying: These three have been made 
that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And this divi- 
sion has been made for the spirits of the righteous, in which 
there is the bright spring of water. And this has been made 
for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and 
judgement has not been executed on them in their lifetime. 
Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain, till 
the great day of judgement, scourgings and torments of the 
accursed for ever, so that there may be retribution for their 
spirits. There he shall bind them for ever. And this division 
has been made for the spirits of those who make their suit, 
who make disclosures concerning their destruction, when they 
were slain in the days of the sinners. And this has been 
made for the spirits of men who shall not be righteous but 
sinners, who are godless, and of the lawless they shall be 
companions; but their spirits shall not be punished in the day 
of judgement nor shall they be raised from thence. 

Then I blessed the Lord of glory and said: “Blessed art 
thou, Lord of righteousness, who ruleth over the world.” .. . 
(The Book of Enoch, 22: 1-14.) 


THE WARNING TO THE PEOPLES OF THE EARTH 


Hear, O ye people of vaunting Asia and Europe, what pro- 
phetic strains of truth I purpose to pour forth, through the 
honied speech of my mouth from our shrine. No oracle- 
monger am I of a false Phoebus whom vain men have called 
a god and falsely termed a seer: but the prophetess of the 
mighty God whom men’s hands fashioned not, like to dumb 
idols of polished stones. For he has not as his habitation a 
stone set up in a templé, dumb and helpless, a bugbear of 


58 | THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


many woes to mortals. But he is one whom none can see from 
earth, nor measure with mortal eyes, seeing he was not fash- 
ioned by mortal hands. With all-embracing view he beholds 
all, yet himself is seen by none. He is the murky night, 
and day, the sun, the stars, and moon, and sea, the haunt 
of fish; and land and rivers and the source of perennial 
streams, creatures ordained for sustaining life and showers 
that cause the cornfield to grow, and trees, and vines and olive- 
trees. He has driven a goad right through my heart to tell 
out exactly all that is happening to men now, and all that is 
to happen, reaching from the first generation to the tenth. 
For he shall vindicate all by bringing it to pass. But do thou, 
O people, hearken in all things to the Sibyl as she pours forth 
true speech from a holy mouth. Happy shall those men be 
throughout the earth who shall truly love the mighty God, 
blessing him before eating and drinking, staunch in their god- 
liness. Who, when they see them, shall disown all temples 
and altars, vain erections of senseless stones, befouled with con- 
stant blood of living things and sacrifices of four-footed beasts. 
But they shall look to the great Glory of the one God, neither 
committing dastard murder, nor bartering for dishonest gain, — 
which things are altogether evil. Nor do they set their foul 
affection on another’s bed... . 

Whose conversation and godliness and manners other men 
will never emulate, men whose affections are set on shameless- 
ness. But mocking them with ribald jest and laughter, fools 
in their senselessness, they will falsely attribute to them all 
the dastardly and evil deeds that they shall do. For slow of 
faith is all the race of men. But when the assizes of the 
world and of mortals shall come, which God himself shall hold 
when he judges godly and ungodly alike: then shall he send 
the ungodly in the fire beneath the murky gloom, and then 
shall they know what grievous impiety they have committed. 
But the godly shall remain upon the fruitful field when God 
has given them breath and life and grace. (The Sibylline 
Books, 4: 1-46.) 


APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE 59 


THE SIGNS OF THE LAST TIME AND THE END 


I answered and said: O Lord my Lord, if I have found 
favour in thy sight, I beseech thee that thou show thy servant 
the last of the signs of which thou didst show me a part in 
the night that is past. 

And he answered and said unto me: Stand up upon thy 
feet and thou shalt hear a voice exceeding loud, and it shall 
be as if the place whereon thou standest be greatly shaken. 
When the voice speaks with thee, be thou not terrified: for 
the word is of the end and the foundations of the earth shall 
understand that the speech is concerning themselves. They 
shall tremble and be shaken, for they know that their end 
is to be changed. 

And it happened that when I heard it I stood up upon 
my feet, and hearkened: and lo, a voice spake, and the sound 
of it was as the sound of mighty waters. 

And it said: 


Behold, the days come, and it shall be, 

When I am about to draw nigh, to visit the dwellers upon 
earth, 

And when I require from the doers of iniquity the penalty of 
their iniquity, 

And when the humiliation of Sion shall be complete, 

And when the Age which is about to pass away shall be sealed, 

Then I will show these signs: the books shall be opened before 
the face of the firmament, and all shall see together. 


And one-year-old children shall speak with their voices; 
pregnant women shall bring forth untimely births at three and 
four months, and these shall live and dance. And suddenly 
shall the sown places appear unsown, and the full storehouses 
shall suddenly be found empty. And the trumpet shall sound 
aloud, at which men, when they hear it, shall be struck with 
sudden fear. And at that time friends shall war against 
friends like enemies, the earth shall be stricken with fear, 
together with the dwellers thereon, and the springs of the 


60 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


fountains shall stand still so that for three hours they shall 
not run. And it shall be, that whosoever shall survive all 
these things that I have foretold unto thee, he shall be saved 
and shall see my salvation and the end of my world. And 
the men who have been taken up, who have not tasted death 
from their birth, shall appear. Then shall the heart of the 
inhabitants of the world be changed and be converted to a 
different spirit. For evil shall be blotted out, and deceit ex- 
tinguished; faithfulness shall flourish and corruption be van- 
quished; and truth, that for so long a time has been with- 
out fruit, shall be made manifest. (Fourth Book of Ezra, 
6: 11-28.) . 


THE BEGINNING OF THE END 


And then from the sunrise God shall send a King, who shall 
give every land relief from the bane of war; some he shall 
slay and to others he shall consecrate faithful vows. Nor shall 
he do all these things by his own will, but in obedience to the 
good ordinances of the mighty God. 

And again the people of the mighty God shall be laden with 
excellent wealth, with gold and silver and purple adornment. 
The land shall bear her increase, and the sea shall be full of 
good things. And the Kings shall be weary of repelling evil 
one against the other with wrath. Envy is no good thing for 
miserable mortals. But again the Kings of the nations shall 
throw themselves against this land in troops, bringing retribu- 
tion on themselves. For the shrine of the mighty God and the 
noblest men they shall seek to ravage whensoever they come 
to the land. In a ring round the city the accursed Kings shall 
place each one his throne with his infidel people by him. And 
with a mighty voice God shall speak to all the undisciplined, 
empty-minded people, and judgment shall come upon them 
from the mighty God, and all shall perish at the hand of the 
Eternal. From heaven shall fall fiery swords down to the 
earth: lights shall come bright and great, flashing into the midst 


APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE 61 


of men. And earth, the universal Mother, shall shake in those 
days at the hand of the Eternal, and the fishes in the sea, 
and all the beasts of the earth, and the countless tribes of 
flying things, and all souls of men and every sea shall shudder 
at the presence of the Eternal, and there shall be panic. And 
the towering mountain peaks and the hills of the giants He 
shall rend, and the murky abyss shall be visible to all. And 
the high-hung ravines in the lofty mountains shall be full of 
dead bodies; the rocks shall flow with blood, and each torrent 
shall flood the plain. The well-built walls of the disaffected 
men shall all fall to the ground, because they knew not the 
law nor the judgment of the Mighty God, but with witless 
mind, with one united onslaught, ye cast your spears against 
the Holy One. And God shall judge all with war and sword, 
and with fire and cataclysms of rain. And there shall be 
brimstone from heaven, yea, stones and hail, incessant and 
grievous; and death shall be upon the four-footed beasts. 
And then they shall know the immortal God who ordains these 
things. Wailing and lamenting through the length and breadth 
of the land shall come with the perishing of men; and all the 
shameless shall be washed with blood. Yea, the land itself 
shall drink of the blood of the perishing; the beasts shall eat 
their fill of flesh... . 

Then again all the sons of the great God shall live quietly 
around the temple, rejoicing in those gifts which he shall give, 
who is the Creator and sovereign, righteous Judge. For he 
by himself shall shield them, standing beside them alone in 
his might, encircling them, as it were, with a wall of flaming 
fire. Free from war shall they be in city and country... . 
And then all the isles and the cities shall say: How doth the 
Eternal love those men. (The Sibylline Books, 3: 652-711.) 


THE GENERAL RESURRECTION 


And the earth shall restore those that sleep in her, and the 
dust those that are at rest therein, and the chambers shall 


62 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


restore those that were committed unto them. And the Most 
High shall be revealed upon the throne of judgment: and 
then cometh the end, and compassion shall pass away, and 
pity be far off, and long-suffering withdrawn; but judgment 
alone shall remain, truth shall stand and faithfulness triumph. 
And recompense shall follow and the reward be made manifest; 
deeds of righteousness shall awake, and deeds of iniquity shall 
not sleep. And then shall the pit of torment appear, and over 
against it the place of refreshment; the furnace of Gehenna 
shall be made manifest, and over against it the Paradise of 
delight. And then shall the Most High say to the nations that 
have been raised from the dead: Look now and consider whom 
ye have denied, whom ye have not served, whose command- 
ments ye have despised. Look now before you; here delight 
and refreshments, there fire and torments! Thus shall he 
speak unto them in the Day of Judgment, for thus shall the 
Day of Judgment be: a day whereon is neither sun, nor moon, 
nor stars; neither clouds, nor thunder nor lightning; neither 
wind, nor rain-storm, nor cloud-rack; neither darkness, nor 
evening, nor morning; neither summer, nor autumn, nor win- 
ter; neither heat, nor frost, nor cold; neither hail, nor rain 
nor dew; neither noon, nor night, nor dawn; neither shining, 
nor brightness, nor light, save only the splendour of the 
brightness of the Most High, whereby all shall be destined to 
see what has been determined. (Fourth Book of Ezra, 7: 32- 


43.) 


THE RETURN OF THE TRIBES 


This is the interpretation of the vision: Whereas thou didst 
see a Man coming up from the heart of the sea: this is he 
whom the Most High is keeping many ages, and through whom 
he will deliver his creation, and the same shall order the sur- 
vivors. . . . And whereas thou didst see that he summoned 
and gathered to himself another multitude which was peace- 
able: these are the Ten Tribes which were led away captive 
out of their own land in the days of Josiah the king, which 


APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE 63 


tribes Salmanasar, the king of the Assyrians, led away cap- 
tive; he carried them across the river and they were trans- 
ported into another land. But they took this counsel among 
themselves, that they should leave the multitude of the heathen, 
and go forth into a land further distant, where the human 
race had never dwelt, there at least to keep their statutes which 
they had not kept in their own land. And they entered by 
the narrow passages of the river Euphrates. For the Most 
High then wrought wonders for them, and stayed the springs 
of the river until they were passed over. And through that 
country there was a great way to go, a journey of a year and 
a half; and that region was called Arzareth. There they have 
dwelt until the last times; and now, when they are about to 
come again, the Most High will again stay the springs of the 
river, that they may be able to pass over. Therefore thou 
didst see a multitude gathered together in peace. (Fourth 
Book of Esdras, 13: 25-47.) 


THE REIGN OF THE MESSIAH 


And he shall be a righteous King, taught of God, over them, 
and there shall be no unrighteousness in his days in their 
midst, for all shall be holy, and their king the anointed of the 
Lord. For he shall not put his trust in horse, and rider and 
bow, nor shall he multiply for himself gold and silver for war, 
nor shall he gather confidence from a multitude for the day 
of battle. The Lord himself is his King, the hope of him that 
is mighty through hope in God. All nations shall be in fear 
before him, for he will smite the earth with the word of his 
mouth for ever. He will bless the people of the Lord with 
wisdom and gladness, and he himself will be pure from sin so 
that he may rule a great people. He will rebuke rulers and 
remove sinners by the might of his word; and relying upon 
his God, throughout his days he will not stumble, for God 
will make him mighty by means of his Holy Spirit, and wise 
by means of the spirit of understanding. (The Psalms of 
Solomon 17: 35-42.) 


Chapter IV 


JUDAO-ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHY 
Birth of Philosophic Thought 
I. Allegoric Interpretation of the Bible 
a. THE MANNA 


For the creation that serveth thee, who art the Maker, in- 
creaseth his strength against the unrighteous for his punish- 
ment, and abateth his strength for the benefit of such as put 
their trust in thee. Therefore even then was it altered into 
all fashions, and was obedient to thy grace, that nourisheth all 
things according to the desire of them that had need. That 
thy children, O Lord, whom thou lovest, might know, that 
it is not the growing of fruits that nourisheth man, that it is 
thy word, which preserveth them that put their trust in thee. 
For that which was not destroyed of the fire, being warmed 
with a little sunbeam, soon melted away; that it might be 
known that we must prevent the sun to give thee thanks, and 
at the day-spring pray unto thee. For the hope of the un- 
thankful shall melt away as the winter’s hoar-frost and shall 
run away as unprofitable water. (The Wisdom of Solomon, 
16: 24-29.) 


b. THE PLAGUE OF DARKNESS 


For when the unrighteous men thought to oppress the holy 
nation; they, being shut up in their houses, the prisoners 
of darkness and fettered with the bonds of a long night, lay 


there exiled from the eternal providence. . . . As for the illu- 
64 


JUDAO-ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHY 65 


sions of art magic, they were put down, and their vaunting in 
wisdom was put down with disgrace. For they that promised 
to drive away terrors and troubles from a sick soul, were sick 
themselves of fear, worthy to be laughed at... . For they 
were all bound with one chain of darkness. Whether it were 
a whistling wind, or a melodious noise of birds among the 
spreading branches, or a pleasing fall of water running vio- 
lently, or a terrible sound of stones cast down, or a running 
that could not be seen of skipping beasts, or a roaring voice 
of most savage wild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the 
hollow mountains, these things made them to swoon for fear. 
For the whole world shined with clear light, and none were 
hindered in their labour; only over them was spread an heavy 
night, an image of that darkness which should afterward re- 
ceive them. . . . Nevertheless the saints had a very great 
light, whose voice the Egyptians hearing, and not seeing their 
shape, because they also had not suffered the same things, they 
counted them happy. And because they ‘did not hurt them 
now, of whom they had been wronged before, they thanked 
them and besought them pardon for that they had been ene- 
mies. Instead of the darkness thou gavest them a burning 
pillar, both to be a guide on the unknown journey, and an 
harmless sun to entertain them honourably. For the others 
were worthy to be deprived of light, and imprisoned in dark- 
ness, who had kept thy sons shut up, by whom the uncorrupt 
light of the law was to be given to the world. (The Wisdom of 
Solomon, 17: 2—18: 4.) 


II. Progressive Identification of the Chochmah (Wisdom) 
of the Bible, with the Logos (Reason, Word) of 
Greek Philosophy 


a. WISDOM, INTERMEDIARY BETWEEN GOD AND THE WORLD 


Thou hast chosen me to be a King of thy people, and a 
judge of thy sons and daughters; thou hast commanded me 


66 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


to build a temple on thy holy mount, and an altar in the city 
wherein thou dwellest, a resemblance of the holy tabernacle 
which thou hast prepared from the beginning. And Wisdom 
was with thee, which knoweth thy works, and was present 
when thou madest the world, and knew what was acceptable 
in thy sight, and right in thy commandment. . . . And thy 
counsel who hath known, except thou give Wisdom, and send 
thy holy spirit from above? For so the ways of them that 
lived on the earth were reformed, and men were taught the 
things which are pleasing unto thee, and were saved through 
Wisdom. . . . For Wisdom, which is the worker of all things, 
taught me: for in her is an understanding spirit, holy, one only, 
manifold, subtle, lively, clear, undefiled, plain, not subject to 
hurt, loving the thing that is good, quick, which cannot be 
hindered, ready to do good; kind to man, steadfast, sure, free 
from care, having all power, overseeing all things and going 
through all understanding, pure and most subtle spirits. For 
Wisdom is more moving than any motion, she passeth and 
goeth through all things by reason of her pureness. For she 
is the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing 
from the glory of the Almighty; therefore can no defiled thing 
fall into her. For she is the brightness of the everlasting 
light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the 
image of his goodness. And being but one, she can do all 
things; and remaining in herself, she maketh all things new; 
and in all ages entering into holy souls, she maketh them 
friends of God and prophets. For God loveth none but him 
that dwelleth with Wisdom. For she is more beautiful than 
the sun and above all the order of the stars: being compared 
with the light, she is found before it. For after this cometh 
night: but vice shall not prevail against Wisdom. Wisdom 
reacheth from one end to another mightily: and sweetly doth 
she order all things. I loved her and sought her out from my 
youth, I desired to make her my spouse and I was a lover of 
her beauty. In that she is conversant with God, she mag- 
nifieth her nobility; yea, the Lord of all things himself loved 


JUDA0O-ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHY 67 


her. For she is privy to the mysteries of the knowledge of 
God, and a lover of his works. (The Wisdom of Solomon, 


7, 8, 9, passim.) 


b. THE INTERVENTION OF WISDOM AND THE WORD IN THE 
HISTORY OF ISRAEL 


Wisdom preserved the first-formed father of the world, that 
was created alone, and brought him out of his fall, and gave 
him power to rule all things. But when the unrighteous went 
away from her in his anger, he perished also in the fury 
wherewith he murdered his brother. For whose cause, the 
earth being downed with the flood, Wisdom again preserved it, 
and directed the course of the righteous‘ in a piece of wood 
of small value. Moreover the nations in their wicked con- 
spiracy being confounded, she found out the righteous and 
preserved him blameless unto God, and kept him strong against 
his tender compassion toward his son.2. When the ungodly 
perished she delivered the righteous man, who fled from the 
fire which fell down upon the five cities. Of whose wickedness 
even to this day the waste land that smoketh is a testimony, 
and plants bearing fruit that never come to ripeness: and a 
standing pillar of salt is a monument to an unbelieving soul. 
For regarding not wisdom they gat not only this hurt, that 
they knew not the things which were good; but also left be- 
hind them to the world a memorial of their foolishness: so 
that in the things wherein they offended, they could not so 
much as be hid. But Wisdom delivered from pain those that 
attended upon her. When the righteous fled from his brother’s 
wrath,* she guided him in right paths, showed him the kingdom 
of God, and gave him knowledge of holy things, made him rich 
in his travails and multiplied the fruit of his labours. In the 
covetousness of such as oppressed him she stood by him and 
made him rich. . . . When the righteous was sold,® she for- 


1 Noah. 3 Lot’s wife. 5 Joseph. 
2 Abraham. 4 Jacob. 


68 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


sook him not, but delivered him from sin: she went down with 
him into the pit, and left him not in bonds till she brought him 
the sceptre of the kingdom and power against those that had 
oppressed him: as for them that had accused him, she showed 
them to be liars, and gave him permanent glory. She de- 
livered the righteous seed and blameless people. .. . 

For while all things were in quiet silence (when the first- 
born of Egypt were smitten), and night was in the midst of 
her swift course, thine Almighty word leaped down from 
heaven out of thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war into 
the midst of a land of destruction. And brought thine un- 
feigned commandment as a sharp sword, and, standing up, 
filled all things with death: and it touched the heaven but it 
stood upon the earth. (The Wisdom of Solomon, 10: 1-14; 
18: 14-16.) 


The Work of Philo 
ON THE CREATION OF THE WORLD 


For some men, admiring the world itself rather than the 
Creator of the world, have represented it as existing without 
any maker, and eternal; and as impiously as falsely have rep- 
resented God as existing in a state of complete inactivity, 
while it would have been right on the other hand to marvel at 
the might of God as the creator and father of all and to admire 
the world in a degree not exceeding the bounds of modera- 
tion. . . . But the great Moses, thinking that a thing which 
has not been uncreated is as alien as possible from that which 
is visible before our eyes (for everything which is the subject 
of our senses exists in birth and in changes, and is not always 
in the same condition), has attributed eternity to that which 
is invisible and discerned only by our intellect as a kinsman 
and a brother, while of that which is the object of our external 
senses he had predicated generation as an appropriate descrip- 
tion. Since then, this world is visible and the object of our 


JUDZ0-ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHY 69 


external senses, it follows of necessity that it must have been 
created; on which account it was not without a wise purpose 
that he recorded its creation, giving a very venerable account 
of God. 

And he says that the world was made in six days, not 
because the Creator stood in need of a length of time (for it 
is natural that God should do everything at once, not merely 
by uttering a command, but by merely thinking of it), but be- 
cause the things created required arrangement, and number is 
akin to arrangement. .. . And he allotted each of the six 
days to one of the portions of the whole, taking out the first 
day, which he does not even call the first day, that it may 
not be numbered with the others, but entitling it one, he names 
it rightly, perceiving in it and ascribing to it the nature and 
appellation of the limit. . . . For God, as apprehending be- 
forehand, as a God must do, that there could not exist a good 
imitation without a good model, and that of the things per- 
ceptible to the external senses nothing could be faultless which 
was not fashioned with reference to some archetypal idea con- 
ceived by the intellect when he had determined to create this 
visible world, previously formed that one which is perceptible 
only by the intellect, in order that in so using an incorporeal 
model, formed as far as possible on the image of God, he 
might then make this corporeal world a younger likeness of 
the elder creation, which should embrace as many different 
genera perceptible to the external sense as the other world 
contains of those which are visible only to the intellect. ... 
For if there were any one desirous to investigate the cause on 
account of which this universe was created, I think that he 
would come to no erroneous conclusion if he were to say as 
one of the ancients did say: “That the Father and Creator 
was good; on which account he did not grudge the substance 
a share of his own excellent nature, since it had nothing good 
of itself, but was able to become everything.” For the sub- 
stance was of itself destitute of arrangement, of quality, of 
animation, of distinctive character and full of all disorder and 


70 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


confusion; and it received a change and transformation to 
what is opposite to this condition, and most excellent, being 
invested with order, quality, animation, resemblance, iden- 
tity, arrangement, harmony, and everything which belongs to 
the more excellent idea. . . . Accordingly Moses, when re- 
cording the creation of man, asserts expressly that he was 
made in the image of God, and if the image be a part of the 
image, then manifestly so is the entire form, namely the whole 
of this world perceptible by the external senses, which is a 
greater imitation of the divine image than the human form 
is. It is manifest also that the archetypal seal, which we 
call that world which is perceptible only to the intellect, must 
itself be the archetypal model, the idea of ideas, the Reason 
of God. . . . Moses says also, “In the beginning God created 
the heaven and the earth”; taking the beginning to be, not 
as some men think, that which is according to time; for be- 
fore the world time had no existence, but was created either 
simultaneously with it, or after it; for since time is the inter- 
val of the motion of the heavens, there could not have been 
any such thing as motion before there was anything which 
could be moved; but it follows of necessity that it receives 
existence subsequently or simultaneously. It therefore follows 
also of necessity, that time was created either at the same 
moment with the world, or later than it—and to venture to 
assert that it is older than the world is absolutely inconsistent 
with philosophy. But if the beginning spoken of by Moses 
is not to be looked upon as spoken of according to time, then 
it may be natural to suppose that it is the beginning accord- 
ing to number which is indicated; so that, “In the beginning 
He created,” is equivalent to “First of all he created the 
heaven”; for it is natural in reality that that should have 
been the first object created, being both the best of all created 
things, and being also made of the purest substance, because 
it was destined to be the most holy abode of the visible Gods 
who are perceptible by the external senses; for if the Creator 
had made everything at the same moment, still those things 


JUDZ0-ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHY 71 


which were created in beauty would no less have had a reg- 
ular arrangement, for there is no such thing as beauty in dis- 
order. In the first place therefore, from the model of the 
world, perceptible only to the intellect, the Creator made an 
incorporeal heaven, and an invisible earth, and the form of 
air and of empty space; then he created the incorporeal sub- 
stance of water and of air, and above all he spread light, 
being the seventh thing made; and this again was incorporeal 
and a model of the sun, perceptible only to intellect, and of 
all the light-giving stars, which are destined to stand together 
in heaven. . . . And the air and the light he considered worthy 
of pre-eminence. For the one he called the breath of God, 
because it is air, which is the most life-giving of things, and 
of life, the causer of God; and the other he called light, be- 
cause it is surpassingly beautiful. (On the Creation of the 
W orld.) 


ON THE CREATION OF MAN 


And he would not err who should raise the question why 
Moses attributed the creation of man alone not to one creator, 
as he did that of other animals, but to several. For he intro- 
duces the Father of the universe using this language: “Let us 
make man after our image and in our likeness.” Had he 
then, shall I say, need of any one to help him, he to whom 
all things are subject? Or, when he was making the heaven 
and the earth and the sea, was he in need of no one to cO-oper- 
ate with him; and yet was he unable himself by his own power 
to make man, an animal so short-lived and so exposed to the 
assaults of fate without the assistance of others? It is plain 
that the real cause of his so acting is known to God alone, 
but one which to a reasonable conjecture appears probable and 
credible, I think I should not conceal; and it is this. Of 
existing things there are some which partake neither of virtue 
nor of vice; as for instance, plants and irrational animals. . . . 
Some things partake of virtue alone, being without participa- 


“\ 
~ 


72 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


tion in any kind of vice; as for instance, the stars... . 
Some things, again, are of a mixed nature, as for instance 
man, who is capable of opposite qualities, of wisdom and 
folly, of temperance and dissoluteness, of courage and coward- 
ice, of justice and injustice, in short, of good and evil, of what 
is honourable and what is disgraceful, of virtue and vice. Now 
it was a very appropriate task for God the Father of all to 
create, by himself alone, those things which were wholly good, 
on account of their kindred with himself. And it was not in- 
consistent with his dignity to create those which were indif- 
ferent, since they too are devoid of evil, which is hateful to 
him. To create the things of a mixed nature was partly con- 
sistent and partly inconsistent with his dignity; consistent by 
reason of the more excellent idea which is mingled in them; 
inconsistent because of the opposite and worse one. On this 
account Moses says that, at the creation of man alone, God 
said: “Let ws make man,” which expression shows an assump- 
tion of other beings to himself as assistants, in order that God, 
the governor of all things, might have all the blameless inten- 
tions and actions of man, when he does right, attributed to 
him; and that his other assistants might bear the imputation 
of his contrary actions. (On the Creation of the World.) 


CREATION CONTINUED 


First therefore, having desisted from the creation of mortal 
creatures on the seventh day, he began the formation of other 
and divine things. For God never ceases from making some- 
thing or other; but, as it is the property of fire to burn, and 
of snow to chill, so also it is the property of God to be creating. 
And much more so, in proportion as he himself is to all other 
beings the author of their working. Therefore the expression, 
“he caused to rest,” is very appropriately employed here, not 
“he rested.” For he makes things rest which appear to be 
producing others, but which in reality do not effect anything; 
but he himself never ceases from creating. For all the things 


JUDAO-ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHY 73 


that are made by our arts when completed stand still and 
remain; but those which are accomplished by the knowledge 
of God are moved at subsequent times. For their ends are 
the beginnings of other things, as, for instance, the end of 
day is the beginning of night. And in the same way we must 
look upon months and years when they come to an end as 
the beginning of those which are just about to follow them. 
And so the generation of other things which are destroyed, 
and the destruction of others which are generated is completed, 
so that the saying is true that: 


Naught that is created wholly dies; 
But one thing parted and combined with others 
Produces a fresh form. 

(On the Allegories of the Sacred Laws.) 


GOD WITHIN AND WITHOUT THE WORLD 


All places are filled at once by God, who surrounds them 
all and is not surrounded by any of them, to whom alone it 
is possible to be everywhere and also nowhere. N owhere, be- 
cause he himself created place and space at the same time 
that he created bodies, and it is impious to say that the Creator 
is contained in anything that he created. (Of the Confusion 
of Languages.) 

Moses indeed appears to have in some degree subscribed 
to the doctrine of the common union and sympathy existing 
between the parts of the universe, as he has said that the 
world was one and created (for as it is a created thing, and 
also one, it is reasonable to suppose that the same elementary 
essences are laid as the foundations of all the particular effects 
which arise, as happens with respect to united bodies that 
they reciprocally contain each other); but he differs from 
them widely in their opinion of God, not intimating that either 
the world itself, or the soul of the world, is the original God, 
nor that the stars or their motions are the primary causes of 


74 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


the events which happen among men; but he teaches that 
this universe is held together by invisible powers which the 
Creator has spread from the extreme borders of the earth to 
heaven, making a beautiful provision to prevent that which 
he has joined together from being dissolved; for the indis- 
soluble chains which bind the universe are his powers. (On the 
Migration of Abraham.) 


GOD THE UNKNOWABLE 


That interpreter of the divine word, Moses, the man most 
beloved by God, besought God and said: Show me Thyself— 
all but urging him, and crying out in loud and distinct words 
—that Thou hast a real being and existence. The whole world 
is my teacher, assuring me of the fact and instructing me as 
a son might of the existence of his father, or the work of the 
existence of the workman. But though I am very desirous to 
know what Thou art as to Thy essence, I can find no one 
who is able to explain to me anything relating to this branch 
of learning in any part of the universe whatever. On which 
account I beg and entreat of Thee to receive the supplication 
of a man who is Thy suppliant and devoted to God’s service, 
and desirous to serve Thee alone; for as the light is not 
known by the agency of anything else, but is itself its own 
manifestation, so also Thou must alone be able to manifest 
Thyself. For which reason I hope to receive pardon if, from 
the want of any one to teach me, I am so bold as to flee to 
Thee, desiring to receive instruction from Thyself. But God 
replied: I receive, indeed, your eagerness, inasmuch as it is 
praiseworthy; but it is not fitting to grant to any created 
being the request which thou makest. And I only bestow 
such gifts as are appropriate to him who receives them; for 
it is not possible for a man to receive all that it is easy for 
me to give. On which account I give to him who is deserving 
of my favour all the gifts which he is able to receive. But 
not only the nature of mankind, but even the whole heaven 


JUDAO-ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHY 75 


and the whole world is unable to attain to an adequate com- 
prehension of me. . . . When Moses heard this he betook 
himself to a second supplication, and said: I am persuaded 
by Thy explanations that I should not have been able to 
receive the visible appearance of Thy form. But I beseech 
Thee that I may, at all events, behold the glory that is around 
Thee. And I look upon Thy glory as the powers which 
attend Thee as Thy guards, the comprehension of which having 
escaped me up to the present time, worketh in me no slight 
desire of a thorough understanding of it. But God replied and 
said: The powers which you seek to behold are altogether 
Invisible and only appreciable by the intellect. And what I 
call appreciable only by the intellect are not those which are 
already comprehended by the mind, but those which, even if 
they could be so comprehended, are still such that the outward 
senses could not at all attain to them, but only the very 
purest intellect. And although they are by nature incom- 
prehensible in their essence, they still show a kind of im- 
pression or copy of their energy and operation; as seals among 
you, when any wax or similar kind of material is applied to 
them, make an innumerable quantity of figures and impres- 
sions, without being impaired as to any portion of themselves, 
but still remaining unaltered and as they were before; so 
also you must conceive that the powers which are around me 
invest those things which have no distinctive qualities with 
such qualities, and those which have no forms with precise 
forms, and that without having any portion of their everlast- 
ing nature dismembered or weakened. And certain of your 
race, speaking with sufficient correctness, call them ideas, since 
they give a peculiar character to every existing thing, arrang- 
ing what had previously no order, and limiting and defining 
and fashioning what was before destitute of all limitations and 
definition and fashion. And in short, in all respects changing 
what was bad into better condition. Do not, then, ever expect 
to be able to comprehend me nor any one of my powers in 
respect of our essence. But, as I have said, I willingly and 


76 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


cheerfully grant unto you such things as you may receive. 
And this gift is to call you to the beholding of the world, and 
all the things that are in it, which must be comprehended, not 
indeed by the eyes of the body, but by the sleepless vision of 
the soul. (On Monarchy.) 


THE POWERS OF GOD 


The appellations mentioned (Lord, God, Eternal—Adonai, 
Elohim, Jehovah) reveal the powers existing in the living 
God, for one title is that of Lord, according to which he 
governs, and the other is God, according to which he is 
beneficent. For which reason also, in the account of the 
creation of the world, according to the most holy Moses, the 
name God is always assumed by him; for it was fitting that 
the power according to which the Creator, when he was bring- 
ing his creatures into the world, arranged and adorned them, 
should be invoked also by that creation. Inasmuch, therefore, 
as he is a ruler, he has both powers, that, namely, of doing 
good, and that of doing harm; regulating his conduct on the 
principle of requiting him who has done anything. But in- 
asmuch as he is a benefactor, he is inclined only to one of 
these two courses, namely, to do good. And it would be the 
greatest possible advantage to the soul no longer to feel any 
doubt about the power of the king for both purposes, but 
steadily to emancipate itself from the fear, which is suspended 
over it, on account of the vastness of his authority, and to 
kindle and keep alive a most firm hope of the acquisition and 
enjoyment of blessings arising from his being beneficent by 
deliberate intention. Now the expression “everlasting God” 
is eternal to God who bestows gifts, not sometimes giving and 
sometimes not, but always and incessantly; it is equivalent 
to God who does good uninterruptedly; to God who, without 
intermission, is connecting a flow of benefits, coming out one 
after the other; God, who pours forth blessings upon bless- 
ings, who is made up of mercies connected and united; God, 


JUDAO-ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHY 77 


who never omits any single opportunity of doing Good; God, 
who is also the Lord, so that he is able to injure. This also 
Jacob, who practised virtue, asked at the end of his most holy 
prayers. For he said, And the Lord shall be to me as God. 
Which is equivalent to: He will no longer display toward me 
the despotic power of his absolute authority, but rather the 
beneficent influence of his universally propitious and saving 
power, utterly removing the fear with which he is regarded 
as master, and filling the soul with affection and benevolence 
as felt toward a benefactor. What soul could ever conceive 
thus that the master and ruler of the universe, without chang- 
ing anything that he always was, but remaining in the con- 
dition in which he always was, is continually king and un- 
interruptedly bounteous—owing to which he is, to those who 
are happy, the most perfect cause of unlimited and overflow- 
ing blessings? And to trust in a king who is not so elated 
by reason of the magnitude of his authority as to do injury 
to his subjects, but who, through his love for mankind, pre- 
fers that every one should enjoy happiness without fear, is 
the greatest possible bulwark of prosperity and security. 
(About the Planting of Noah.) 


THE MEDIATORS 


For if God were to choose to judge the race of mankind 
without mercy, he would pass on them a sentence of con- 
demnation; since there has never been a single man who, by 
his own unassisted power, has run the whole course of his 
life, from the beginning to the end, without stumbling; but 
since some men have fallen into voluntary and some into 
involuntary sins, that therefore the human race might still 
subsist, even though many of the subordinate members of 
it go to destruction, God mingles mercy with his justice, which 
he exercises toward the good actions of even the unworthy; 
and he not only pities them while judging, but judges them 
while pitying them, for mercy is older than justice in his sight, 


78 THE HELLENISTIC EPOCH 


inasmuch as he knew the man who deserved punishment, not 
after he had served sentence on him, but also before sentence. 
(On the Unchangeableness of God.) 

The men of superior soul are called demons by the other 
philosophers; the Holy Writ calls them, with more justice, 


angels, for they transmit to the children the commands of the 


Father, and to the Father the prayers of the children. It is 
for this reason that in Holy Writ they are shown ascending 
and descending. It is certain that God has no need to be 
informed, for he is everywhere before any one else, but it is 
well for us mortals that he should make use of intermediary 
powers (emanations, Logos, the Word) because of the terror 
which the presence of the supreme and Was egt power would 
inspire. (That Dreams Are from God.) 

The Father, Creator of all, has reserved this for the Word 
(Logos), that it shall be the intermediary between the Creator 
and the created, and observe the barrier between them. And 
this same Word is continually a suppliant to the immortal 
God on behalf of the mortal race, which is exposed to afflic- 
tion and misery; and is also the ambassador, sent by the 
ruler of all, to the subject race. And the Word rejoices in 
the gift, and, exulting in it, announces it and boasts of it, 
saying, “And I stood in the midst, between the Lord and you” 
(Numbers, 16: 48), neither being uncreate, as God, nor yet 
created, as you, but being in the midst between these two 
extremities, like a hostage, as it were, to both parties. (On 
Who Is the Heir of Divine Things.) 


OF ECSTASY 


If any desire comes upon thee, O my soul, to be the in- 
heritor of the good things of God, leave not only thy country, 
thy body, and thy kindred, the outward senses and thy father’s 
house, that is speech; but also flee from thyself and depart 
from out of thyself, like the Corybantes, or those possessed 
with demons, being driven to frenzy, and inspired by some 


JUDA0O-ALEXANDRIAN PHILOSOPHY 79 


prophetic inspiration. For while the mind is in a state of 
enthusiastic inspiration, and while it is no longer mistress of 
itself, but is agitated and drawn into frenzy by heavenly love, 
and drawn upward to that object, truth removing all impedi- 
ments out of its way, and making everything before it plain, 
that so it may advance by a level road, its destiny is to become 


an inheritor of the things of God. (On Who Is the Heir of 
Divine Things.) 


x 
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Fi tas 





THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 





The Talmudic Epoch 


Arter the Christian schism and the final ruin of the Jewish State, 
the Sages undertake the task of perpetuating Judaism by “making a 
hedge round the Torah.” In the Schools of Palestine (under the 
Roman domination) and in those of Babylon (first under the dom- 
ination of the Parthians, later under the domination of the Arabs) 
the oral tradition grows and assumes form in the huge collections of 
the Mishna, the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud 
which impose their legal authority gradually on the Jews of the 
Diaspora. However, during the eighth century, there is a revolt 
against the Talmud; the Karaites, who make the Bible alone, to the 
exclusion of the Talmud, the sole source of their life and faith, 
again threaten the unity of the Jewish world. 


CHRONOLOGY 

A.D. - 

69-70. Siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. Jochanaan ben Zachai 
founds the School or Academy at Jabneh. Destruction of 
the second Temple. New dispersion of the Jews into 
Arabia, Georgia, Crimea, Italy, Spain, Gaul, the Rhine 
country, etc. 

81-96. Reign of Domitian. Progress of Jewish proselytizing 
Flavius Clemens, nephew of the Emperor, converted to 
Judaism. 

133-136. Revolt and defeat of Bar-Kochba in Palestine. Martyr- 
dom of Rabbi Akiba. Jerusalem becomes a pagan city 
under the name of A¢lia Capitolina. 

211-217. Reign of Caracalla. All the Jews of the Roman Empire 
are given access to the Roman magistrature. 

220. Juda the Saint, President of the School of Sepphoris, 
finishes the editing of the Mishna. Rise of the Amoraim 
(Teachers). In Babylon, under the domination of the 
Parthians, the Jews are ruled by an Exilarch. Abba Areka 
founds the school of Sura and R. Samuel presides over 
that of Pumbedhita. 

323-337- Constantine first Christian Emperor. The Council of Nice 
sets for the Christian Easter a date different from that of 


the Jewish Passover. 
83 


84 


350. 
395: 


418. 
4II-484. 
471. 
500. 


SII. 


537: 
586. 


612. 
622. 
624. 
620. 
637. 
641. 
651. 
658. 


694. 
711. 


pve 
761. 


THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


The editing of the Jerusalem Talmud compieted. 

Death of Theodosius. The Roman Empire divided into 
two parts, the Western Empire and the Eastern, within 
which Palestine is included. 

The Jews of the Western Empire are excluded from all 
public functions and dignities. 

Spain conquered by the Visigoths of the Arian sect, who 
give the Jews complete religious liberty. 

Persecution of the Jews of Babylon, under the Parthian 
King Firuz. Martyrdom of the Exilarch Mar Huna. 

R. Aschi and Rabina finish the editing of the Babylonian 
Talmud. ‘The Saboraim succeed the Amoraim. 

Mar Sutra II, Exilarch, organizes a practically independ- 
ent Jewish State under the suzerainty of the Parthian 
King Kobad. 

Edicts of Justinian, Emperor of the East, depriving the 
Jews of civil authority and religious freedom. 

Ricared, Visigoth King of Spain, abjures Arianism and 
becomes a Catholic. 

His successor Sisebut compels the Jews to choose between 
baptism and exile. 

Mahomet tries to win the Jews of Medina over to the 
religion which he has founded. 

Having failed, he makes war on the Jewish tribes of 
Arabia. 

Dagobert, King of the Francs, compels the Jews to choose 
between baptism and exile. 

Omar takes Jerusalem. The Jews of Palestine pass under 
the dominion of the Arabs. 

Bulan, King of the Khazars (southern Russia) embraces 
Judaism, together with his subjects. 

Defeat of Yezgered III, last Parthian emperor. The Jews 
of Babylonia pass under the dominion of the Arabs. 

Mar Isaac, President of the Academy of Sura, takes the 
title of Gaon. 

All the Jews of Spain and of Provence are declared slaves. 
The Arabs conquer Spain and grant the Jews complete 
religious liberty. 

Appearance of the Jewish false Messiah, Serenus, in Syria. 
Anan ben David, in Babylonia, shakes the legal authority 
of the Talmud by the founding of the Karait sect. 


Chapter I 
THE LIFE OF THE SCHOOLS 
THE FOUNDING OF THE SCHOOL OF JABNE 


WHEN Vespasian drew near to destroy Jerusalem, he said 
to the inhabitants: Why will you have your city destroyed and 
your Holy House burned? I ask you but to send me a bow 
and an arrow, and I will begone. They replied: As we went 
forth against the two that came before you, and defeated them, 
so shall we go forth against you and defeat you. When Rabbi 
Jochanaan ben Zaccai heard of this he sent out messengers and 
assembled the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and said to them: 
Why will you have this city destroyed and the Holy House 
burned? All that he asks is that you send him a bow and 
an arrow, and he will begone. But they replied: As we went 
forth against the two who came before him, and defeated 
them, so we shall go forth against him, and defeat him. 
Now Vespasian had a number of men who were hidden close 
by the wall of Jerusalem, and every word they heard they 
wrote upon arrows which they shot over the wall; they also 
wrote that Jochanaan ben Zaccal was among the friends of 
Vespasian. When Rabbi Jochanaan ben Zaccai had spoken 
thus once and twice and three times, and they did not listen 
to him, he sent out messengers and called his pupils together. 
He said to them: My children, rise and lead me from here. 
Make me a coffin that I may sleep in it. Then Rabbi Eliezer 
took him by the head and Rabbi Joshua by the feet, and they 
carried him thus until sunset when they came to the gates of 
Jerusalem. The guards asked them: What is that? And they 


answered: A dead man. Do you not know that it is forbidden 
85 


86 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


that a dead body should lie one night in Jerusalem? They 
replied: If it be a dead man, carry him out. 

They carried him forth, and by the next sunset they came 
to Vespasian. The latter asked: Are you Jochanaan ben 
Zaccai? Ask me for anything you want. Rabbi Jochanaan 
replied: I only ask for Jabne; I want to go there in order 
to teach my pupils, say prayers and observe all the precepts 
of the Torah. And Vespasian replied: You may do all that 
you desire. (Aboth of Rabbi Nathan, Ch. IV.) 


THE SCHOOL OF JABNE 


When Rabbi Jochanaan ben Zaccai and the other masters 
had found rest at Jabne, they laid down ten commandments 
which are to be found in the Mishna, preceded by the words: 
“After the destruction of the Temple Rabbi Jochanaan ben 
Zaccai prescribed ...” Rabbi Gamaliel [end of tst and 
beginning of 2nd century] succeeded Rabbi Jochanaan ben 
Zaccai. He was the head of the School of Jabne, while Rabbi 
Joshua presided over the Sanhedrin. Rabbi Gamaliel, having 
for the third time humiliated Rabbi Joshua, was deposed 
and in his place was appointed the wise and wealthy Rabbi 
Eleazar ben Azarya. Later on, Gamaliel made peace with 
Rabbi Joshua and was reappointed head of the school; Rabbi 
Eleazar nevertheless retained his functions; they taught in 
turn, Rabbi Gamaliel two Sabbaths and Rabbi Eleazar one 
Sabbath. Later the headship of the school was taken by 
Simeon, son of Gamaliel, who was succeeded by his son, 
Juda the Saint (surnamed Rabbi), who was at Sepphoris and 
at Beth-Shearim. (Letter of Sherira, Ed. Neubauer, I, p. 27.) 


THE EDITING OF THE MISHNA BY JUDA THE SAINT (RABBI) 


The Mishna, which is also called the oral law, is the essen- 
tial part of tradition, in the order in which it was received 
by our Master, Moses (Peace be to him), and as it was handed 


THE LIFE OF THE SCHOOLS 87 


down until the time of Juda the Saint. The latter put it into 
writing, that it might last long and be read and never forgotten 
or lost. (Rabbi Samuel ibn Nagdila, Mabo ha-Talmud.) 

Although in general all the Rabbis were equally authorita- 
tive in matters relating to the interpretation and exposition of 
the Laws, Rabbi Juda used as the basis of his work the in- 
genious formulas of Rabbi Akibah and his school; thereto he 
added what he held in esteem of his own period, and edited 
the whole properly, developing characteristic decisions, setting 
off, in disputed cases, opinion against opinion as he had re- 
ceived them from the masters, and even finding room for in- 
dividual opinions which have not the force of law. “Why,” 
he asked, “have these individual opinions been preserved side 
by side with the opinions of the majority, thus taking away 
the authority of the latter? This was done so that, if an 
interpreter of the law should appear, and should say: ‘I have 
received this and this tradition, which is at variance with the 
generally accepted tradition,’ it might be possible to demon- 
strate to him that it was an individual opinion. When every- 
body had recognized the beauty, the faithfulness and the ac- 
curacy with which our Mishna had been edited, all other 
sources of information were abandoned, and this collection 
spread throughout all Israel.” (Letter of Sherira, Ty pp! 
II-12.) 


THE SCHOOLS OF BABYLON 


When the Israelites were exiled to Babylon (508 B.c.E.) 
with King Jechonia, there were among them carpenters and 
locksmiths, and also many prophets; they were led to Nehar- 
dea, where Jechonia and his companions built a synagogue, 
with stones and dust which they had brought from the site 
of the old Temple, in order that they might fulfil the words 
of the Scripture: “Thy servants love thy stones and cherish 
thy dust.” They called this synagogue by a name which 
means: “The Sanctuary hath left its place to come here.” 


88 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


. . . And the spirit of God was with them. . . . When Ezra 
and Zerubabel returned to the land of Israel and rebuilt 
the Temple there [6th-5th Century B.c.z.], and while the 
heads of the Sanhedrin, as for instance Simon the Just, Anti- 
gonos of Socco and all the other teachers, mostly from Baby- _ 
lon, taught the Torah at Jerusalem—they continued neverthe- 
less to spread the knowledge of the Torah throughout the 
country of Babylon, where the Israelites were ruled by the 
Princes of the Exile, descendants of the House of David. 
(Letter of Sherira, I, 26-27.) 


THE INSTALLATION OF AN EXILARCH 


On Thursday morning they assembled in the synagogue, 
blessed the exilarch, and placed their hands on him. They 
blew the horn that all the people, small and great, might hear. 
When the people heard the proclamation, every member of 
the community sent him a present, according to his power 
and his means. All the heads of the community and the 
wealthy members sent him magnificent clothes and beautiful 
ornaments, vessels of silver and vessels of gold, each man 
according to his ability. The exilarch prepared a banquet 
on Thursday and on Friday, giving all kinds of food, and all 
kinds of drinks, as, for instance, different kinds of sweetmeats. 
When he arose on Sabbath morning to go to the synagogue, 
many of the prominent men of the community met him to go 
with him to the synagogue. At the synagogue a wooden pulpit 
had been prepared for him on the previous day, the length 
of which was seven cubits, and the breadth of which was 
seven cubits. They spread over it magnificent coverings of 
silk, blue, purple and scarlet, so that it was entirely covered 
and nothing was seen of it. Under the pulpit there entered 
distinguished youths, with melodious and harmonious voices, 
who were well versed in the prayers and all that appertains 
thereto. The exilarch was concealed in a certain place together 
with the heads of the academies. . . . The precentor of the 


THE LIFE OF THE SCHOOLS 89 


synagogue would begin the prayer Blessed be He who Spoke, 
and the youths, after every sentence of that prayer, would 
respond “Blessed be He .. .” When all the people were 
seated, the exilarch came out from the place where he was 
concealed. Seeing him come out, all the people stood up, 
until he sat down on the pulpit which had been made for 
him. Then the head of the academy of Sura came out after 
him, and, after exchanging courtesies with the exilarch, sat 
down on the pulpit. Then the head of the academy of 
Pumbedhita came out, and he, too, made a bow, and sat down 
at his left... . Then the exilarch would begin to expound 
matters appertaining to the biblical portion of that day, or 
would give permission to the head of the academy of Sura 
to deliver the exposition, and the head of the academy of 
Sura would give permission to the head of the academy of 
Pumbedhita. They would thus show deference to one another, 
until the head of the academy of Sura began to expound. The 
interpreter stood near him, and repeated his words to the 
people. He expounded with awe, closing his eyes and wrap- 
ping himself up with his tallith, so that his forehead was 
covered. While he was expounding, there was not one in the 
congregation who opened his mouth, or chirped, or uttered a 
sound. ... Then the precentor stood up and recited the 
Kaddish. When he reached the words, During your life and 
in your days, he would say: “During the life of our Prince 
the exilarch, and during your life, and during the life of all 
the house of Israel.” When he had finished the Kaddish he 
would bless the exilarch, and then the heads of the academies. 
Having finished the blessing, he would stand up and say: 
‘Such and such a sum was contributed by such and such a 
city and its villages”; and he mentioned all the cities which 
had sent contributions for the academy and blessed them. 
Afterwards he blessed the men who had busied themselves 
in order that the contributions should reach the academies. 
Then he would take out the Book of the Law, and call up a 
priest, and a Levite after him. While all the people were 


90 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


standing, the precentor of the synagogue would bring down 
the Book of the Law to the exilarch, who took it in his hands, 
stood up and read in it. The heads of the academies stood 
up with him, and the head of the academy of Sura translated 
it to him. Then he would give back the Book of the Law 
to the precentor, who returned it to the ark. ... (Nathan 
Ha-Bavli, Halper’s translation. ) 


THE TALMUD 


The Talmud (or tradition) consists of two parts: the 
Mishna (oral law edited by Juda the Saint, in six Books) 
and the Commentary on the Mishna (Gemara). The Com- 
mentary, in turn, is divided into two parts: the established 
tradition, and the tradition which is not yet established. The 
established tradition is that tradition which we have received 
from Moses, and Moses from God, whether it has been handed 
down to us as the interpretation of a single master or of 
several masters. Similarly, the tradition which is not yet 
established may come down to us as the interpretation of one 
or of several masters. . .. This second part of the Com- 
mentary on the Mishna is again divided under twenty-one 
headings, among which are: Tosephta (the additions), Be- 
raitha (collections subsequent to the Mishna), Maaseh (facts, 
examples taken from life), Halachah (judicial discussions and 
decisions) and Haggadah (all that which, being without legal 
content, is left to individual appreciation). (Samuel ibn Nag- 
dila, Mabo ha-Talmud.) 


PRAYER FOR THE BABYLONIAN TEACHERS OF THE TORAH 
(YAKUM PURKON) 


O may redemption come down from heaven, bringing grace 
and kindness and mercy, and earthly gifts of health and 
affluence and long life; living and strong children, and a pos- 
terity that shall not cease nor falter in the study of the law 


THE LIFE OF THE SCHOOLS 9] 


—to our teachers and rabbis of the holy fellowship which 
are in the land of Israel and in the land of Babylon, to the 
principals of the academies and to the Princes of the exile, to 
the heads of the colleges and the judges that are in the gates, 
to all their pupils and the pupils of their pupils and to all 
who are given to the study of the Torah. May the Lord of 
the Universe bless them, preserve them, and increase their 
years. May he deliver them from all woe and from all evil 
hap; may the Lord of Heaven be their stay and comfort at 
all times and in all seasons. Amen. (The Prayer-Book.) 


re 


Chapter II 
THE SAGES 
JOCHANAAN BEN ZACCAI (IST CENTURY C.E.) 


Jochanaan and His Disciples 


RaBRI JOCHANAAN said to his pupils: “Go forth and see which 
is the good way to which a man should cleave.” R. Eliezer 
said: “A good eye”; R. Joshua said: “A good friend”; R. Jose 
said: “A good neighbour’; R. Simon said: “One who foresees 
what is yet to be”; R. Eleazar said: “A good heart.” There- 
upon R. Jochanaan said: “I approve the words of Eleazar the 
son of Arak rather than your words, for in his words yours 
are included.” 

He said to them: “Go forth and see which is the evil way 
which a man should shun.” R. Eliezer said: “An evil eye”; 
R. Joshua said: “A bad friend”; R. Jose said: “A bad neigh- 
bour”; R. Simon said: “One who borrows and repays not— 
it is the same whether he borrows from man or from God: 
as it is said: “The wicked borroweth, and payeth not; but the 
righteous dealeth graciously and giveth.’” R. Eleazar said: 
“A bad heart.” Thereupon he said to them: “I approve the 
words of R. Eleazar the son of Arak rather than your words, 
for in his words yours are included.” 

Rabbi Eleazar also said: “See how the ways of God differ 
from the ways of man. The man of high rank hardly ever 
sees any one who is not of equal rank with himself, and he 
is disdainful to those who occupy an inferior position. But 
it is not thus with God. Is there a being more exalted than 
He? And yet He looks with loving-kindness on the very 
lowliest.”’ 

92 


THE SAGES 93 


He also said: “Prayer is of greater value than the sacrifices. 
To bring others to do good is more meritorious than to do 
good one’s self. 

“The pot which you have used to cook for others will be 
used to cook for you. If all sins are punished by inter- 
mediaries, God reserves to himself the punishment of oppres- 
sion. 

“Charity is of greater value than all the sacrifices. Charity 
is rewarded only according to the degree of goodness which 
goes with it. He that gives charity in secret has more power 
with God than Moses himself. If there existed only one just 
man, he will have justified the creation of the world.” 


The Death of Jochanaan ben Zaccai 


When Rabbi Jochanaan ben Zaccai was sick his pupils 
came to visit him. Seeking them, he began to weep. And 
they asked him: “Light of Israel, strong pillar, mighty ham- 
mer, why do you weep?” He answered: “I would weep if I 
were being brought before a king of flesh and blood, a king 
whom I could appease with words and corrupt with gold, a 
king who is of this world to-day and who, the next day, is 
in the tomb, a king whose anger, if it be kindled against me, 
is not an eternal anger, a king whose chains, if they bind me, 
are not eternal chains, a king who, if he put me to death, can- 
not make it eternal death. Behold, I am being led before the 
King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, Who cannot 
be appeased with words nor corrupted with gold, Who lives 
and exists for all eternity, Whose anger, if it be kindled against 
me, is an eternal anger, Whose chains, if they bind me, are 
eternal chains: and I see before me two roads, and one leads 
to the Garden of Eden, and the other to Gehenna; and I 
know not which road I shall be made to tread. Shall I not 
weep?” Then his disciples said: “Bless us.” And he replied: 
‘“May it please the Lord that you fear God as you fear men.” 
And his pupils asked him: “Shall we not fear Him more?” 
And he replied: “May it please God that you fear Him as 


94 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


much. When a man commits a wrong, does he not say: If 
only no man has seen me?” (Berachoth.) 


RABBI CHANINA BEN DOSSA (IST CENTURY) 


The Poverty of Rabbi Chanina 


Rab said: “Every day there is heard a voice from heaven, 
saying: ‘The whole world is nourished only for the sake of 
Chanina, my son, and my son Chanina is content with a pot 
of locust-beans from the eve of one Sabbath to the eve of the 
next Sabbath.’ ” 

Before the coming of every Sabbath the wife of Rabbi 
Chanina would heat her oven, and throw into it such things 
as would produce smoke, to make believe that she was pre- 
paring a meal and thus hide the shame of her poverty. She 
had a wicked neighbour, who said to herself: “I know she has 
nothing there. I will go and see.” She came and knocked at 
the door. The wife of Rabbi Chanina was ashamed, and went 
to hide herself in her room. But behold a miracle: the neigh- 
bour found the oven filled with bread and the kneading-trough 
filled with dough. She cried out: “Neighbour, neighbour, 
your bread is going to burn.” And the wife of Chanina re- 
plied: “I was just coming from my room for that reason.” 
We even learn that she was really going to take out the bread, 
for she was accustomed to miracles. 

One day she said to her husband: ‘How long shall we live 
in such poverty?” ‘What shall I do?” he asked. ‘Pray to 
God that he should give us on this earth a little of the happi- 
ness which is reserved for the just in the world to come.” 
He prayed, and there suddenly appeared a hand and gave him 
the gold leg of a table. Then he dreamed, and in his dream 
he saw all the just eating at tables with three legs, while 
his own table had only two legs. And he said to his wife: 
“Would you have all the just eating at tables with three legs, 
and we alone eating at a table with only two legs?” She 





THE SAGES 95 


said: “What shall we do? Pray to God to take back the 
gift.” And he prayed, and the gold leg was taken back. And 
it is said that the second miracle was greater than the first, 
for we know that heaven gives, but never takes back its gifts. 
(Taanith.) 


The Words of Rabbi Chanina 


Rabbi Chanina said: “I have learned much from my teach- 
ers, I have learned still more from my fellow-students, but: 
they from whom I profited most were my pupils. The dis- 
ciples of the wise bring the reign of peace on earth.” 

He also said: “There is more merit in the observance of 
duties which are prescribed for us than in the accomplish- 
ment of deeds which have not been imposed. 

“If your passions threaten to overcome you, repulse them 
by study. If your good works outweigh your knowledge, you 
will see your knowledge flourish; but if your knowledge out- 
weigh your good works, your knowledge will fail. If you place 
the fear of sin above wisdom, your wisdom will endure; but 
if you place wisdom above the fear of sin, your wisdom will 
not endure.” 

He said, too: “Disdain not the benediction of any man. 
He that is loved of men is also loved of God, and he that is 
not loved of men is no more loved of God than of men.” 

And he said, finally: “(Not one man in the whole world hurts 
his finger unless it has been so decreed from on high. Evil 
cannot come from on high. Everything is dependent on God, 
save the fear of God.” (Berachoth.) 


NAHUM GIMSO (IST CENTURY) 


Why was this man called Nahum Gimso? Because he was 
wont to say, whatever happened to him: “This too (gam zeh) 
is for the best.” | 

It is related of Nahum Gimso that he was blind in both 
eyes, that both his hands were crippled, that his feet were 


96 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


both cut off and that the whole of his body was covered with 
leprosy. He lay stretched out in a tottering house, and his 
legs were thrust into pots of water, so that the ants might 
not be able to get to him. One day his pupils wanted to 
move his bed and then the rest of the things to another house. 
Then he said: “My children, take the other things first 
and my bed last, for as long as I am here in the house 
you may be certain that it will not fall.’ They did as 
he told them, and no sooner had they carried the bed out 
than the house tumbled down. Then his pupils said: “If you 
are so just a man, why do all these evil things overtake you?” 
“My children,” he answered, “I have brought them all on 
myself: for one day, as I was going to the house of my father- 
in-law, leading with me three donkeys, one laden with pro- 
visions, one with wine and one with rare fruits, I chanced 
on a poor man who stopped me and said: ‘Master, give me 
something to eat.’ ‘Wait,’ I said, ‘until I have unladen my 
donkey.’ But I had not ended unlading the beast before the 
man gave up the ghost. Then I went and threw myself upon 
him, saying: ‘May: my eyes, which had no pity on your eyes, 
lose their sight: may my hands, which had no pity on your 
hands, be crippled: may my feet, which had no pity on your 
feet, be cut off.’ And my spirit was not at rest until I had 
said: ‘May my whole body be covered with leprosy.’” His 
pupils replied: “Woe to us, that we see you in this condition.” 
But he said: “Woe to me if you were not to see me.” 
(Taanith.) 


RABBI GAMALIEL (END OF THE IST AND BEGINNING OF THE 
| 2ND CENTURY) 


The Emperor said to Rabbi Gamaliel: “Your God is a thief, 
for it is written: ‘The Eternal made a sleep to fall on Adam 
(and while Adam slept took’ out a rib).’” The daughter of 
Gamaliel then said to the Emperor: “Give me a judge.” 
“What for?” asked the Emperor. “There was a thief in my 


THE SAGES 97 


house this night, he took away a Silver pitcher aid left me a 
gold pitcher.” The Emperor replied: “I wish this thief would 
come to me every day.” And the daughter of Gamaliel re- 
plied: “Was it not a good thing for Adam too, who lost a rib 
and was given a woman instead?” ( Sanhedrin.) 

The Emperor said to Gamaliel: “You say that wheresoever 
ten men are assembled (for prayer) God comes to them, 
How many Gods are there, then?” Gamaliel called his serv- 
ant, and struck him lightly on the neck. The Emperor asked: 
“Why did you strike him?” “Because he let the sun shine 
into the house,” answered Gamaliel. “But the sun is every- 
where,” said the Emperor. And Rabbi Gamaliel replied: “The 
sun is but one among the thousands of thousands and thou- 
sands of myriads which are before the Holy One, blessed be 
He: yet the sun is everywhere in the world. Much more so, 
then, is the Holy One Himself.” (Sanhedrin. ) 

One day a philosopher said to Rabbi Gamaliel: “It is written 
in your sacred book: The Lord thy God is a devouring fire, 
a jealous God. Why is it, then, that He proceeds against 
the idolators and not against the idols themselves?” To 
which Gamaliel replied: “If the Pagans adored such things 
as the world did not need, God would surely destroy them; 
but see, they worship the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, 
the springs and the valleys; shall He, because of these madmen, 
destroy all of his beautiful universe?” (Avodah Zarah.) 


RABBI JOSHUA BEN CHANANYA (END OF THE IST AND 
BEGINNING OF THE 2ND CENTURY) 


The Rabbi and the Emperor 


One day Hadrian (may his bones be broken!) asked Rabbi 
Joshua, son of Chananya: “Am I not a mightier than your 
master, Moses?” “Why?” “Because he is dead and I am 
alive. Is it not written: a living dog is better than a dead 
lion?” “Can you,” asked the Rabbi, “issue a command that 
no one shall light a fire during three days?” “Surely,” an- 


98 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


swered the Emperor. That evening they both went up on the 
terrace of the palace, and Joshua saw smoke ascending in the 
distance. ‘‘What is that?” he asked. ‘‘The man who lives 
there,” said the Emperor, “‘is sick, and the doctor who is tend- 
ing him says that if he does not drink hot water it is impossible 
to cure him.” ‘May he give up the ghost,” said Joshua. ‘See, 
you are still living, and your commands are not observed, and 
Moses, our master, has commanded us: On the Sabbath day 
you shall light no fire in any of your houses, and ever since 
that time the Jews will not kindle any light on the Sabbath day, 
and the command has never been withdrawn. Will you 
still say, ‘I am mightier than your master, Moses’?” (Ruth 
Abba.) 

The Emperor said to Rabbi Joshua, son of Chananya: “I 
want to see your God.” The Rabbi replied: “That is im- 
possible.”’ The Emperor said: “You must show Him to me.” 
The Rabbi made the Emperor go outside with him; it was 
summer, in the month of Tammuz; and he said to the Em- 
peror: “Look at the sun.” “TI cannot,” answered the Em- 
peror. Then the Rabbi replied: “If you cannot even look 
at the sun, which is but one of the servants of the Holy One, 
blessed be He, how shall you look at the Holy One Himself?” 
(Chulin.) 


RABBI JOSHUA THE THAUMATURGIST 


One day Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Joshua and Rabbi Gamaliel 
arrived in a certain town and were hospitably received in a 
house. While at table they noticed that every dish, before 
it was offered them, was carried into a small room adjoining. 
They feared that this was a custom such as one saw only in 
the homes of idolators, so they asked their host for an ex- 
planation. He replied: “In that little room there is my old 
father, who has vowed never to go forth from it until he 
has seen the sages of Israel.” ‘Then go and tell your father,” 
they answered, “to come out, for the sages of Israel are here.” 
The old man came out, and they asked him: “What do you 





THE SAGES 99 


desire?” “Pray for my son,” he answered. “He has no 
children.” Then said Rabbi Eliezer to Rabbi Joshua: 
“Joshua, see what you can do.” “Let them bring me some 
flax-seeds,” said Rabbi Joshua. They were brought, and 
Rabbi Joshua took them and spread them on the table; then 
it appeared as though they were sown, then as though they 
blossomed, then as though they again became seeds. Then 
a woman appeared, with long hair on her head. Joshua said 
to her: “Untie what thou hast knotted.” She replied: “I 
cannot untie sorcery, the magic knot has fallen into the sea.” 
At once Joshua commanded the lord of the sea to disgorge 
the charm. Then they prayed. And before long the host was 
made happy by the birth of a son, whom he named Judah, son 
of Bethera. (Sanhedrin, Tal. Jer.) 


A MIRACLE IS NO PROOF 


On that day Rabbi Eliezer brought up all possible objec- 
tions, but they would not heed him. Finally he said: “If the 
rule is as I teach it, let this carob-tree give a sign.’ And 
the carob-tree moved back two hundred cubits. But the sages 
said: “A carob-tree proves nothing.” So he said: “If the 
rule is as I teach it, let the water in this channel give a sign.” 
And the water in the channel flowed upward instead of down- 
ward. But the sages said to him: “The waters of a channel 
prove nothing.” Then he said: “If the law is as I teach 
it, let the walls of the school decide.” And the walls of the 
school leaned over as to fall. And Rabbi Joshua cursed the 
walls, saying: “When the pupils of the sages dispute a point 
of law what business is that of yours?” And out of respect 
for Rabbi Joshua the walls did not tumble: but out of respect 
for Rabbi Eliezer they did not stand up straight again: and 
they are still there, leaning over. Then a divine echo was 
heard: “What ails you? Why do you importune Rabbi 
Eliezer? The rule has always been what he teaches it to be.” 
But Rabbi Joshua, rising to his feet, exclaimed: “It is not 


100 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


in heaven!” (Deut. XXX, 12). What did he mean by these 
words? He meant that the Torah is no longer in heaven; it 
was given to us from Mount Sinai, once for all time, and we 
need no longer pay heed to a divine voice, for in the Torah, 
given at Sinai, it is written: “The opinion of the majority 
shall prevail.” The prophet Elijah appeared to Rabbi Nathan, 
who asked him: ‘What was God doing at that moment [when 
Rabbi Joshua denied the value of miracles]?” And the 
prophet replied: “God was laughing and saying: ‘My chil- 
dren have conquered Me, My children have conquered Me.’ ” 
(Baba Mezia.) 


AKYLAS THE PROSELYTE (END OF THE IST AND BEGINNING 
OF THE 2ND CENTURY) 


Akylas said to Hadrian the King: “I want to be converted 
and become an Israelite.” Hadrian replied: “What? You 
want to belong to this people? You want to mingle with the 
lowest of the people? What have you seen in them, that 
you should wish to be converted?” ‘The littlest among them,” 
replied Akylas, “knows how the Holy One, blessed be He, 
created the world, and what was created on the first day, and 
what keeps the world up: and their Torah is truth.” “Learn 
their Torah,” replied Hadrian, ‘‘but do not be circumcised.” 
And Akylas replied: “The wisest man in your kingdom, though 
he were a hundred years of age, cannot learn their Torah 
save he be circumcised. For it is written: He has revealed 
His words to Jacob and His laws of justice to Israel: He has 
not done this for any of the other peoples, and His laws re- 
main unknown to them.” (Shemoth Rabba.) 

Akylas the Proselyte asked our masters: “It is written: I 
will love the convert: I will give him bread and raiment. 
Are those all the promises that have been made to the convert 
by the Holy One, blessed be He?” He was answered: ‘For 
you, who have come to us, it is not enough to be treated as 
we are treated; you should be treated as Jacob was treated, 
Jacob, the eldest son of the Holy One, blessed be He. And 


THE SAGES 101 


think not that Jacob asked nothing of God but bread and 
raiment. [See Genesis 28: 30.] But he said: “The Holy 
One, blessed be He, has promised to be with me, and to bring 
forth from me sons who will be holy priests, and who will 
eat the sacred bread, and who will be clad in sacred raiment. 
For it is said: He gives me bread to eat—meaning the sacred 
bread,—and raiment to clothe me—meaning the raiment of 
holiness. In like fashion, he will bring forth, from the convert, 
sons who will eat the holy bread and clothe themselves in 
sacred raiment.” (Shkemoth Rabba.) 


RABBI AKIBA (50-132) 


The Marriage of Akiba 


Akiba was the friend of the son of Kalba Shebua, to whose 
house hungry men went and came out like well-fed beasts. 
The daughter of Kalba Shebua having seen him, and having 
guessed his virtues, said to him: “I will become your wife, 
if you will study.” He replied: “So be it.”. She married 
him in secret and sent him away. The father learned of it, 
thrust her forth from his house and denied her the use of 
any part of his wealth. 

Akiba was away for twelve years, and then returned, fol- 
lowed by twelve thousand pupils. His wife had been asked: 
“How long will you remain a widow?” and she had replied: 
“Tf he had asked me I would have advised him to study an- 
other twelve years.” And Akiba turned back to study another 
twelve years. When he arrived before the town, his wife 
came out to meet him. She fell upon her face and kissed his 
feet. His pupils wanted to repulse her, but Rabbi Akiba said: 
“Let her be, for whatever is mine and yours is hers,” 
(Kethuboth.) 


The Words of Akiba 


Rabbi Akiba said: “He is wealthy who possesses a virtuous 
wife. The divine glory rests on the pious household, while 
a secret fire consumes the impious household.” 


102 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


He also said: “The bulwark of wisdom is silence. Before 
the bar of justice the poorest in Israel must be regarded as 
persons of high degree who have lost their wealth: for they, 
no less than the rich, are descended from Abraham, Isaac 
and Jacob.” 

And he also said: “He who refuses help to a sick man 
is looked on as a murderer. He who enjoys anything, what- 
soever it be, without having first thanked the Creator, com- 
mits sacrilege. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: 
that is the great principle of the Law. God foresees all and 
yet man has his free choice.” 

Turnus Rufus, the wicked prince, asked Akiba: “What dif- 
ference is there between the Sabbath and the other days?” 
He replied: “What difference is there between you and other 
men?” Rufus said: “The King, my master, would have it so.” 
And Akiba replied: “It is even thus with the Sabbath: God, 
my Master, would have it so.” (Sanhedrin.) 


Trust in God 


One day Rabbi Gamaliel, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azarya, Rabbi 
Joshua and Rabbi Akiba were travelling together and heard 
from a distance of one hundred and twenty miles the noise 
that went up from Aram. All save Rabbi Akiba burst into 
tears, but he laughed. “Why do you laugh?” they asked him. 
“And why do you weep?” he asked them. “See,” they an- 
swered, “these idolaters who pray to images and burn incense 
before them, live in safety and happiness—and our House, 
the footstool of the true God, has been destroyed by fire: 
shall we not weep?” “But for that very reason I must laugh,” 
replied Akiba. ‘For if this happiness be the portion of those 
who transgress the Divine Will, think of the joy reserved for 
those who have obeyed it!” 

On another occasion they went up together to Jerusalem. 
When they reached Mount Zophim [Mount Scopus] * they 
rent their garments: and when they were on the Mount of 


1. On which the first Hebrew University was opened, April 1, 1925. (Tr. 


THE SAGES 103 


the Temple they saw a jackal come out of the place that had 
been the Holy of Holies. Then they began to weep—but 
Akiba laughed. “Why do you laugh?” they asked him. “And 
why do you weep?” “What then?” they asked. “Behold the 
Place of which it was written: the profane who shall approach 
it shall be struck dead. And even now we have seen the ful- 
filment of another word that was written concerning it: The 
Mountain of Zion, in ruins, overrun by foxes. And shall we 
not weep?” “But for that very reason I must laugh,” an- 
swered Akiba. “For Uriah the priest said: the Mountain 
of Zion shall be harrowed like a field, Jerusalem shall be a 
heap of ruins, and the Mountain of the Temple shall be a 
woody hill. And Zechariah, the son of Berachya, said: Once 
more the old men and the old women shall be seated in the 
squares of Jerusalem, staff in hand, and the squares of the 
city shall be full of boys and girls at play. And as long as 
the prophecy of Uriah was not fulfilled I could fear that the 
prophecy of Zechariah would remain unfulfilled too. But with 
the fulfilment of the prophecy of Uriah, I know that the 
prophecy of Zechariah will be utterly fulfilled.” ‘Akiba, 
Akiba,” cried the others, “you have comforted us, you have 
comforted us.” (Makkoth.) 


The Death of Akiba 


When Rome forbade Israel to teach the Torah, what did 
Akiba do? He called together great assemblies, and taught 
the Torah. Pappus, the son of Judah, came to him and said: 
“Akiba, fearest thou not this people?” And Akiba replied: 
“Pappus, art thou he whom they call the wise? Thou art but 
a fool. I will relate a parable unto thee. 

“A fox walked by the side of a stream, and in the water 
saw fish fleeing hither and thither. ‘Why do ye flee?’ he 
asked them. And they replied: ‘To escape from the nets 
which are spread for us.’ And the fox said: ‘Come out upon 
the land, and we will live together, as your fathers and my 
fathers lived togetfer. And they replied: ‘Art thou indeed 


104 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


he whom they call the most cunning of animals? Thou art 
but a fool: if we are afraid here in the water, which is the 
place of our life, shall we not be all the more afraid on the 
land, which is the place of our death?’ 

“It is thus with us, Pappus,” went on Akiba. “If we are 
afraid while we study the Torah, of which it is written: It 
is thy life, and the increase of thy days—shall we not be the 
more afraid if we cease from studying it?” 

A few days later Akiba was arrested and imprisoned; and 
they also arrested Pappus, the son of Judah, who was im- 
prisoned together with Akiba. And Akiba asked him: “What 
brought thee hither, Pappus?” “Happy art thou, Akiba,” an- 
swered Pappus, “for thou art in prison for the sake of the 
Torah, but I am here for vain things!” 

When they brought forth Akiba and led him to his death, 
it was the hour of the Shema [the prayer “Hear, O Israel’’]. 
They combed his flesh with iron combs, and he prayed, accept- 
ing with love the yoke of the kingdom of heaven. And his 
pupils cried: “Enough, Master, enough!” But he replied: 
‘Every day I wept over the words: And thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy soul. I asked myself: Will that 
moment ever come? And now that the moment has come 
shall I not fulfil my desire?” And when he said “The Lord 
is one” he dwelt on the word “‘one” until his soul left his body. 

Then was heard a voice from heaven saying: “Happy art 
thou, Rabbi Akiba, whose soul went forth still proclaiming 
My Unity: for thou art destined to eternal life!” (Berachoth.) 


RABBI MEIR (2ND CENTURY) 


Rabbi Meir and His Master 


Elisha ben Abuya, the teacher of Meir, turned away from 
God. How did this thing come to pass? One Sabbath day 
he saw a man climb to the summit of a tree, take down a 
bird and its young, and descend without mishap. On another 
occasion, the Sabbath day being over, he saw another man 


THE SAGES 105 


climb to the summit of a tree, and take only the young, leav- 
ing the mother bird to escape. And as this man climbed down 
from the tree, he was bitten by a serpent, so that he died. 
“This man,” said Elisha, “has observed the precept: If a 
bird’s nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, 
or on the ground, whether they be young ones or eggs, and 
the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt 
not take the dam with the young: but thou shalt in any wise 
let the dam go, and take the young to thee: that it may be 
well with thee and that thou mayest prolong thy days. [Deut. 
22:6, 7.] Yet wherein is it well with him, and how have his 
days been prolonged?” Others tell that he had seen a dog 
devouring the tongue of Rabbi Judah, the baker: ‘If this be 
the fate of the tongue which, while it was a living thing, was 
given all its days to the utterance of the Torah, what shall 
be the fate of the tongue which never laboured therein? Then 
there is neither reward, nor punishment, nor any resurrection 
of the dead... .” 

Some time later Elisha ben Abuya fell sick, and it was told 
to Rabbi Meir: “Elisha, thy master, is sick.” Meir went to 
see him, and said: ‘Master, repent.” “Will God receive me 
again?” “Surely: is it not written: Thou turnest man to 
destruction, and sayest, Return, ye children of men.” Then 
Elisha ben Abuya wept, and weeping died. 

Rabbi Meir rejoiced and said: “It seems that my master 
left this world a penitent.” Later, when Elisha had been 
buried, a flame threatened to consume his tomb. The thing 
was told to Rabbi Meir: “The tomb of thy master is in 
flames.” Rabbi Meir went forth, spread his talith [praying 
shawl] over the tomb and pronounced these words: “The 
goodness of the Eternal is given to all: and if He shall refuse 
to save thee, then, as God liveth, I shall save thee: sleep till 
the resurrection!” And the flame was extinguished. (Kohe- 
leth Rabba.) 


106 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


The Sayings of Rabbi Meir 


Rabbi Meir said: ‘““He who gives himself up to the study of 
the Torah for its own sake has merited many things: more 
than this—he alone is worth the whole world. He is called 
the well-beloved, he loves God and loves mankind; he re- 
joices God and rejoices mankind. It clothes him with meek- 
ness and reverence, and renders him just, pious, upright and 
faithful; it removes him from sin and brings him nearer to 
worthiness. From him the world receives counsel and wis- 
dom, understanding and power, as it is written: Counsel is 
mine and sound wisdom; I am _ understanding, I have 
strength. [Prov. 8:14.] It gives him sovereignty and do- 
minion and discerning judgment; to him are unfolded secrets 
of the Torah and he becomes like a never-failing fountain, 
like a strong flowing river; he becomes modest, long-suffering 
and forgiving of insult; it magnifies him and exalts him above 
all things.” (Abdoth, VI, 1.) 

He said, moreover: “Limit thy business, that thou mayest 
also have time for the study of the Torah. He is rich who 
rejoices in his portion. Chew thy food well and thou wilt feel 
it to thy very heels. The loveliest of God’s creations is peace.” 


The Mourning of Rabbi Meir 


As Rabbi Meir sat in the Beth Ha-Medrish [school] one 
Sabbath day, toward the hour of Minchah [the afternoon 
prayer], his two children died at home. His wife put them 
both in one bed and covered them. When the Sabbath was 
ended Rabbi Meir returned to his home, and asked: ‘Where 
are the children?” “They went to the Beth Ha-Medrish,”’ an- 
swered his wife. “I waited for them, and I did not see them,” 
said Rabbi Meir. Then his wife gave him the bowl of wine, 
he made the Havdalah [farewell prayer to the Sabbath] and 
asked again: ‘“‘Where are the children?” And she answered: 
“They have gone out and will return.” She then served the 
meal, and when he had eaten he made the benediction. When 


THE SAGES 107 


he was done his wife said: “Rabbi, I have a question to ask.” 
“Speak.” “Rabbi, a man was here some time ago and left 
a sum of money with me. He is coming now to claim it. 
Shall I return it to him or not?” “My child, whosoever has 
something in trust for another, must return it to the owner.” 
“T did not want to return it without your knowing of it.”” And 
then she took Rabbi Meir by the hand, brought him into the 
room and over to the bed, and drew back the cover that lay 
on her children; and he saw them lying dead on the bed. 
And he cried out: “My children, my children, my teachers, 
my teachers! My children who reverenced me, my teachers 
who enlightened me!” Then his wife said: “Did you not say 
that what I held in trust I must return to the Owner?” And 
he replied: “The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed 
be the name of the Lord.” (Midrash M ishle.) 


RABBI SIMON BEN JOCHAI (2ND CENTURY) 


The Advice of Rabbi Simon- 


A woman of Sidon had lived ten years with her husband 
without bearing children. They came before Rabbi Simon to 
be divorced. He said: “I charge you—as your union was 
celebrated by a feast of meats and wine, so shall your sepa- 
ration be celebrated by a feast of meats and wine.” They 
accepted his counsel. They fixed a day for the festival and 
made a great feast, and at the feast the husband became 
drunk. Then he said to his wife: “My daughter, take the 
most precious thing in my house, and return to the house 
of your father.” And when he was asleep she summoned her 
servants and bade them carry him, together with the bed, to 
her father’s house. Toward midnight he awoke from his 
drunkenness, and at once he asked his wife: “My daughter, 
whither have they carried me?” “To the house of my father.” 
“What shall I do here?” “Did you not say last night: Take 
the most precious thing in my house and return to the house 
of your father? I know of nothing in the whole world more 


108 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


precious than yourself.” They returned again before Rabbi 
Simon; he rose and prayed for them, and the woman became 
a mother. (Shir-ha-Shirim Rabba.) 


Rabbi Simon and the Romans 


Rabbi Juda, Rabbi Jose and Rabbi Simon were together 
one day, and Rabbi Juda, a son of proselytes, was with them. 
Rabbi Juda began to speak and said: “How beautiful are the 
works of the Romans, the market-places, the bridges and the 
baths which they have built.”” Rabbi Jose said nothing, but 
Rabbi Simon remarked: “They have made nothing except for 
their own benefit, the markets that they might sell girls, the 
baths for their amusement and the bridges for the collection 
of tolls.” Juda, the son of the proselytes, repeated this con- 
versation, which reached the ears of the Roman Governor. 
And the Roman Governor exalted Rabbi Juda, because he 
had extolled the Romans, exiled Rabbi Jose to Sepphoris, be- 
cause he had held his peace and condemned Rabbi Simon 
to death, because he had spoken disrespectfully of the Ro- 
mans. Simon and his son hid themselves in a schoolhouse, 
and every day the wife of Rabbi Simon brought him a pitcher 
of water, bread and cabbages. But when the Governor be- 
came more severe in his measures, Simon said to his son: 
“The spirit of woman is light; perchance they will use vio- 
lence, and we shall be discovered.”” And they hid themselves 
in a cave. There a miracle took place; a carob-tree began 
to blossom and a spring to flow. . . . (Sabbath.) 

When twelve years had passed, Rabbi Simon said: “If I 
do not leave this place I shall not know what is happening 
on earth.” He went out and sat down at the entrance to the 
cave. Then he saw a bird-catcher who had a bird in his 
snare. And suddenly he heard an echo from heaven: ‘“Free- 
dom!” And the bird was saved. Then he said: “Even a 
bird cannot die without the command of God,—much less a 
man.” And he fled to Tiberias. (Sheviith, Tal. Jer.) 


THE SAGES 109 


The Sayings of Rabbi Simon ben Jochai 


“To frequent the company of the Masters of the Law, 
and to be at their service, is more profitable even than to 
study the Law. A man should speak of his virtues softly 
and of his faults loudly. Cast thyself into a burning furnace 
rather than shame thy fellow in public. God gave Israel 
three excellent things: the Torah, the Holy Land and the 
life to come; but these were not given to Israel except after 
much suffering.’ 


RABBI CHANINA BEN TERADION (2ND CENTURY) 


The Death of Rabbi Chanina 


When Rabbi Jose ben Kisma fell sick, Rabbi Chanina ben 
Teradion came to visit him. To him Rabbi Jose said: “My 
brother, do you not see that it is the will of heaven that the 
Romans should rule? They have destroyed the House of 
God, slain the faithful and the good—and still they live. Yet 
I have heard say that you go on teaching the Torah (which 
the Romans have forbidden), and that you call together great 
assemblies, and that you carry the Book in your bosom.” 
“Heaven will have mercy on us,” said Rabbi Chanina. And 
Rabbi Jose retorted: “I give you words of good counsel— 
and you answer me: Heaven will have mercy on us! It would 
not astonish me at all if you were to be put to the flames, 
together with the volume of the Torah... .” And Rabbj 
Chanina said: “Master, what shall I be in the world to come?” 
“Tell me one of your acts.” “My purim-money [for merry- 
making on that festival] became mixed in my pocket with 
my alms-money. So I gave all of it to the poor.” “If this 
be so,” said Rabbi Jose, “would that your portion were my 
portion, and that your destiny were mine!” 

A few days later Rabbi Jose ben Kisma died: all the nobles 
of Rome came to the obsequies, and a great funeral oration 
was pronounced. As they returned from the obsequies the 


110 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


Romans came across Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion, who was . 


seated before a great assembly, teaching from the Book of 
the Torah, which he held in his hand. They took him and 
swathed him in the wrappings of the Torah, heaped around 
him faggots that were still green and set fire to them; they 
also took sponges of linen, which they dipped in water and 
placed over his heart, in order that his soul might not leave 
him too quickly. His daughter cried out: “O my father, that 
I must see you thus!” And he replied: “If I were to be 
burned alone it might be a bitter thing for me. But since I 
am being burned together with the book of the Torah, he 
that is guilty of the offence against the Torah is also guilty 
of the offence against me.” His pupils said to him: “Master, 
what do you see?” And he answered: “The parchment burns, 
but the letters fly away.” “Then you, too, open your mouth 
and breathe in the flame [that his soul might fly away].” 
‘He that has given it to me, let Him take it back. I shall 
not do it myself.” Then the executioner said: “Master, if I 
heap up the flame upon you, and take away the sponges of 
linen which are over your heart, will you bring me into the 
world to come?” “Yes.” “Swear it.” And the rabbi swore. 
Then the executioner increased the flame and took away the 
sponges of linen from over his heart, and his soul went forth 
quickly; then the executioner leapt into the fire and also died. 
And a voice was heard from heaven, saying: “Rabbi Chanina 
and his executioner shall have their portion in the world to 
come.” And Rabbi Judah wept and said: “There are some 
who win eternity in one hour and others must labour how 
many years!” (Avodah Zara.) 


RABBI ELEAZAR BEN SIMON (2ND CENTURY) 


The Haughtiness of Rabbi Eleazar 


Our Masters taught: “A man should be yielding, like the 
reed, not hard, like the cedar.” Rabbi Eleazar, son of Rabbi 
Simon, was returning from the school of his teacher, at Mig- 


THE SAGES 111 


dal Guedor, and he rode on his donkey along the bank of 
the river; and he was filled with haughtiness, because he had 
learned much Torah. And there crossed his path a man, 
who was ugly. The man said: “Peace unto you, Rabbi.” 
And the Rabbi did not answer, but said: “How ugly the man 
is! Tell me, are all the men of your city as ugly as you?” 
The other replied: “I do not know. Go and tell the crafts- 
man who made me: How ugly is this, the vessel Thou hast 
made!” When Rabbi Eleazar saw that he had sinned he 
went down from his donkey, prostrated himself before the man 
and said: “Pardon me, I pray you!”” But the other replied: 
“I will not pardon you until you say to the craftsman who 
made me: ‘How ugly is this, the vessel Thou hast made.’ ” 
And the Rabbi walked behind him, until they came to the 
village. The men of the village came out to meet the rabbi, 
and said: “Peace be to you, our Rabbi, our teacher!”? And 
the man said: ‘“‘Who is he whom you call Rabbi and teacher?” 
And they said: “The man who is walking behind you.” “If 
he be a teacher,” said the man, “may there be few like him 
in Israel!” They asked him why he said this, and he told 
them what had happened. ‘Pardon him nevertheless,” they 
said, “for he is a man great in the Torah.” “For your sakes 
I will pardon him, but let him never act in like fashion again.” 
Rabbi Eleazar soon came to the school, and taught that day: 
“A man should be yielding, like the reed, not hard, like the 
cedar.” (Taanith.) 


RABBI JOSE THE GALILEAN (2ND CENTURY) 


The Rabbi and His Wife 


Rabbi Jose had a wicked wife, who was his sister’s daugh- 
ter; she humbled him before his pupils. His pupils said to 
him: “Send away this wicked woman, who is not to your 
honour.” He replied: “Her dowry is too large for me. I 
have not the wherewithal to give it back to her.” One day 
he and Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah were seated at study. 


112 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


When they had ended Rabbi Jose said to his wife: “Is there 
anything in that pot?” And she replied: “Locust beans.” 
He went and uncovered the pot, and found a chicken there. 
At first Rabbi Eleazar made it appear that he had heard 
nothing. They sat down and ate. Then Rabbi Eleazar said: 
“Master, she said the pot held locust beans, and we are eat- 
ing chicken.” “A miracle,” replied Rabbi Jose. ‘Master,” 
said Eleazar, “leave this woman, for she was not made to do 
you honour.” Rabbi Jose replied: “Her dowry is too large 
for me. I have not wherewith to return it to her.” Rabbi 


Eleazar said: “I will return her dowry to her. Send her. 


away.” And this was done. 

Rabbi Jose married another woman, who was better than 
the first, and his first wife, for her sins, married a watchman 
of the city. After some time the man fell sick and became 
blind; and she took him by the hand and led him through 
the streets of the city. But when they came to the street 
of Rabbi Jose the Galilean, she stopped and turned back. 
But the man knew the city well, and he asked: ‘Why do you 
not lead me by the house of Rabbi Jose? I have heard that 
he gives greatly of his charity.” She replied: “I am divorced 
from him, and cannot look upon him.” Nevertheless they 
went to beg in that quarter of the city. The first day they 
quarrelled; the next day the blind man beat his wife; their 
cries were heard and they were humiliated before all the 
city. And Rabbi Jose looked whence the cries came, and he 
said to the man: “Why do you beat her?” And the man an- 
swered: “Every day she causes me to lose alms in this street.” 
Then Rabbi Jose took both of them, and gave them one of 
his houses, to live there, and fed them as long as they lived, 
as it is written: “From those that are thy own flesh thou 
shalt not turn away.” (Bereishith Rabba.) 


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THE SAGES 113 


RABBI JOSE BEN CHALAFTA (2ND CENTURY) 


The Marriage 


A Roman matron asked Rabbi Jose, son of Chalafta: 
“In how many days did the Holy One, blessed be He, create 
the world?” “In six days,” he replied. “And what has He 
been doing ever since?” ‘Making marriages.” ‘And is that 
all He does?” asked the woman. “I could do as much my- 
self. I have men slaves and women slaves. In one little 
hour I can marry them all.” “Though it may appear easy 
in your eyes,” said the Rabbi, “yet every marriage means as 
much to the Holy One, blessed be He, as the splitting of the 
Red Sea.” What did the woman do when Rabbi Jose was 
gone? She took a thousand men slaves and a thousand women 
slaves, placed them in two ranks, and said: “Let this one take 
that one, let this one take that one”—and in a single night 
she married them. The next morning the women came to 
the house of their mistress. One had a cracked crown, an- 
other a bruised eye, a third a limb broken. ‘What ails you 
all?” she asked. And they replied, each one: “I will not live 
with this one—I will not live with that one. . . .” Then the 
woman sent for Rabbi Jose, and said to him: “There is no 
God like your God, and your Torah is beautiful and praise- 
worthy, for you were in the right.” And he replied: “Did 
I not say that though a good marriage may seem an easy 
thing in your eyes, to God it means as much labour as the 
miracle of the splitting of the Red Sea?” (Bereishith Rabba.) 


RABBI JUDA THE SAINT (SURNAMED RABBI) 


Rabbi and the Animals 


By something which he did, Rabbi brought upon himself 
the tribulations of sickness, and by something which he did 
he rid himself of the sickness. 

One day, as a calf was being led to the slaughterhouse, it 


114. THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


fled toward Rabbi, hid its head under his mantle, and wept. 
And Rabbi said: ‘“‘Go, you were born for the slaughterhouse.” 
Because he showed no pity to the beast, his sickness came 
upon him. 

Another day the servant of Rabbi was sweeping the house. 
The cat and her kittens lay on the floor, and he would have 
swept them out, too, but Rabbi said to him: “Let them be, 
for it is written: The compassion of God is given to all his 
creatures.” Because he pitied them God pitied him, and he 
was cured. (Baba Mezia.) 


The Soul and the Body 


“The soul and the body can both escape punishment,” said 
Antoninus to Rabbi. “How? The body can say: The soul 
committed the sin, for see, ever since the soul left me, I have 
been lying in my tomb mute as a stone. And the soul 
can say: It was the body that committed the sin, for see, 
ever since I left it I have been flying through space like a 
bird.” And Rabbi replied: “Let me tell you a parable. 
To what can this thing be:compared? ‘There was a king of 
flesh and blood, who had a beautiful pleasure garden, wherein 
grew the loveliest of early fruits. He put two keepers in the 
garden, and one of them was blind, the other paralytic. One 
day the paralytic said to his blind companion: ‘I see some 
beautiful fruit: come, I will climb up on your shoulders, we 
will pluck the fruit and eat it.2 And the paralytic climbed 
up on the shoulders of the blind man, and they plucked the 
fruit and ate it. After a few days the owner of the garden 
appeared, and asked: ‘Where are my beautiful fruits?’ And 
the paralytic replied: ‘How can I have taken them, I who 
have no limbs?’ And the blind man said: ‘How can I have 
taken them, I who cannot see?’ What did the king do? He 
put the paralytic on the shoulders of the blind man, and he 
punished them both together. Even so will the Holy One, 
blessed be He, seek out the soul, put it back in the body, and 
punish both of them together.” (Sanhedrin.) 


THE SAGES 115 


The Sayings of Rabbi 


Rabbi said: “The true happiness of a man is only with 
his first wife. He who does not teach his son a profession, 
teaches him to be a thief. The world is sustained by the pure 
breath of children who go to school.” 

He said further: ‘Apply thyself to the observation of the 
minor precepts no less than of the major precepts, for thou 
canst not tell what recompense is attached to either. Be 
filled with the knowledge of three things, and thou wilt not 
fall into sin: Know that above thee is an Eye which seeth 
all things, and an Ear which heareth all things, and remember 
that all thy actions are written into the Book.” 


The Death of Rabbi 


The inhabitants of Sepphoris had said: “The man who will 
announce the death of the rabbi we shall kill.” Bar Kappara 
placed himself at the window, his raiment torn and his head 
covered in mourning, and said to the passers-by: “Men and 
angels strove for the Tables of the Covenant, and the angels 
triumphed and carried them off.” Andthey said: ‘What? 
Then Rabbi is dead?” “It is you who have said it!” They 
tore their raiment, and the noise of their weeping was heard 
three leagues away. 

That same day there were prodigies performed. It was the 
eve of the Sabbath, and from all the villages the people arrived 
to observe the obsequies of Rabbi; eighteen communities ex- 
tolled him, and then his body was lowered into the grave. 
But on that day the sun did not set until every man had 
returned to his home, filled himself a cask of water, and 
kindled a light. No sooner had the sun set than the cock 
began to crow. They were all filled with fear, and wondered 
whether they had profaned the Sabbath. But an echo was 
heard from heaven, saying: ‘To all those who shared in the 
obsequies for Rabbi the eternal life to come is promised; there 
is no share in the life to come for the fuller” [who had not 


116 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


taken part in the obsequies]. When the fuller heard this he 
threw himself from the roof of his house and was killed. Then 
the echo was heard again, proclaiming: “For the fuller, too, 
there is a share in the eternal life to come.” (Kilayim, Tal. 


Jer.) 


Chapter IT] 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 
1. Halachah (Juridical Tradition) 


LOANS 


“TAKE thou no usury of thy brother, or increase: but fear 
thy God, that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt 
not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals 
for increase.” (Lev. 25: 36-37.) 

What is to be understood by usury? What is to be under- 
stood by increase? 

It is usury, for example, for a man to lend out a sela [four 
deniers] for five deniers, for he exploits his brother. It is 
increase, for example, for a man to buy a measure of cheese 
for a gold denier [twenty-five silver deniers], when the cheese 
stood at this price, and when the value of the cheese rose 
to thirty deniers, to go to the buyer, and say: “Give me back 
my cheese, I wish to buy wine in its place.” The buyer, hav- 
ing no wine, replies: “Let us consider that the cheese was sold 
to me at the price of thirty deniers, and you will get from 
me thirty deniers’ worth of wine.” 

If a man has made a loan to another, he must not go and 
live in that man’s house at a reduced price, because of the 
loan, nor take lodgings from him more cheaply, for this would 
be getting usury for his loan. 

Certain loans without usury are, however, forbidden, in 
that they represent a certain profit indirectly. For example, 
one man says to another: “Lend me a sela [or twenty-five 
deniers].” The other replies: “I have only a kour of cheese; 


take it.” He gives it to the borrower (for twenty-five deniers), 
117 


118 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


then buys it back for twenty-four deniers. There was no loan 
with usury, but there was usury indirectly. (Baba Mezia, 
Ch. V, Mishna, 1, 2.) 


SALE OF A SLAVE 


When an Israelite sells his slave to a pagan or to some one 
abroad, the slave thereby recovers his liberty. To a pagan, 
if the sale is made in Palestine. Who is he that draws up 
the letter of liberation? The first owner pays back to the sec- 
ond owner the sum which he received from the latter for the 
sale of the slave, and the second owner draws up the letter of 
liberation. This is done abroad, even if the sale is made to a 
Jew. Is it necessary to say that if the second master knows 
this legal disposition, each of the two owners loses one-half of 
the price of the slave, and that if the second owner does not 
know this, the first must make restitution of the price to the 
second, who draws up the letter of liberation? (Gittin, Ch. 
IV, Mishna, 7.) 


THE RIGHT TO FUNERAL OBSEQUIES 


No funeral rites shall be observed for him who has taken 
his own life. . . . The clothes shall not be torn, neither shall 
the shoulders be uncovered, neither shall mourning be worn 
for him; it is permitted, however, to stand in rows and say 
the funeral benedictions, for these are a mark of respect to 
the survivors. 

If a man be found strangled, or hanging from a tree, or 
with his throat cut, or fallen upon his sword, he shall not 
be looked upon as a suicide, unworthy of funeral rites. 

The son of Gornos one day ran away from school; his 
father having threatened to box his ears, the boy took fright 
and killed himself by jumping into a brook. On being asked, 
Rabbi Tarphon said: “Funeral rites shall not be refused him.” 
(Semakoth, Ch. II, Mishna, 1, 3, 4.) 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 119 


SERVICE IN THE POPULAR TONGUE 


There are some who read the Book of Lamentations on 
the eve before the Ninth of Ab; others wait until the morn- 
ing, and so, after the reading of the Torah, a man rises, his 
head covered with ashes and his raiment torn, and, amidst 
tears and plaints, he reads from the book of Jeremiah. If 
he knows how to translate he does so. If not, he lets some 
one translate who knows how to do it, in order that the 
people, the women and the children, may understand; for the 
women must understand what is read, and, much more, the 
men. The woman must also know how to read the Shema 
[Hear, O Israel . . .] and the Prayer of the Eighteen Bene- 
dictions. If she does not know the Holy Tongue, she must 
be taught these prayers in whatever language she knows or 
can be taught in. And for this reason it is said: “Whosoever 
utters a prayer, let him lift up his voice, that his children, his 
wife and his grandchildren may hear.” (Soferim.) 


THE CONVERT 


If a man desires to be converted to Judaism, he shall not 
be received at once, but they shall say to him: “Why dost 
thou desire to be converted? Thou seest that this nation is 
oppressed and unhappy beyond all other nations, that evil and 
suffering come upon it, that they of Israel bury their children, 
and their children bury them, that they are killed because 
they observe circumcision, the ritual bath and other com- 
mandments, and that they cannot practise their religion openly 
like other peoples.” If then he replies: “I am not worthy 
to place my neck under the yoke of Him who with a word 
created the universe,” then he shall be received at once: but 
if he can make no reply, he shall be sent away. In case he 
shall have taken upon himself the yoke of heaven, he shall be 
conducted to the ritual bath, and when he shall have issued 
from it, certain commands of the Law shall be expounded 


120 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


to him, among others the obligations under which he now 
lives respecting the law of gleaning, of forgotten sheaves, of 
the corners of the field, and of tithes. . . . Then good words, 
words of comfort, shall be spoken to him: ‘Salvation be with 
thee: knowest thou to whom thou art come? To Him who 
had but to speak that the world might be: for the world was 
created for the love of Israel, and Israel has a first place in 
the love of God: and our efforts to drive thee away from us 
were only intended to make greater thy merit.” (Gerim, I.) 


HATRED OF ONE’S NEIGHBOUR 


It is forbidden for an Israelite to hate his neighbour; for it 
is written: “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart.” 
[Lev. 19: 17.] And we find that it was the hatred of the 
brothers for Joseph which brought our ancestors into the 
slavery of Egypt. . . . Our Rabbis have taught: ‘Thou shalt 
not hate thy brother.” Perhaps by this might be understood: 
“Thou shalt not wound him, thou shalt not quarrel with him, 
thou shalt commit no outrage against him.” It is for this 
reason that the prophet adds: “Thou shalt not hate thy 
brother in thine heart,” in order to make clear that it is not 
permitted to carry hatred toward any one within one’s self, 
even if no outward expression is given to it. As to the 
punishment which is foreseen for unjustified hatred, it is 
equal to that which is imposed for the three capital crimes, 
which are: idolatry, luxury and murder. . . . Why did the 
first Temple fall? Because of idolatry, luxury and murder. 
. . . And why did the second Temple fall, since we know 
that in its time the Torah was observed, good works were 
practised, and the commandments were respected? It fell 
because of the unjustified hatreds which reigned then, from 
which it may be concluded that unjustified hatred is a sin 


as heavy as idolatry, luxury and murder. (Gaon Achai 
Shabcha.) 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 121 


2, Haggadah (Non-Juridical Tradition) 
CREATION AND REPENTANCE 


Until the creation of the world, the Holy One, blessed be 
He, was alone with His Name. And the idea of the creation 
of the world rose in Him, and before it yet existed the world 
limned itself before Him. Even thus, a king who desires to 
build a palace will not begin to build if he does not draw 
first upon the ground the foundations, the doors and entrances 
of the palace. So God drew the world before Him, and the 
world was not, until the Holy One, blessed be He, had first 
created Repentance. There were seven things created before 
the creation of the world: the Torah, Sheol, the Garden of 
Eden, the Throne of Glory, the Sanctuary, Repentance and 
the name of the Messiah. (Pirke of Rabbi Eliezer.) 


THE CREATION OF MAN 


When God was about to create Adam he had already cre- 
ated the attendant angels, rank by rank and group by group. 
And there were some who said: “Let man be created,” and 
others said, “Let not man be created.” As it is written: 
Grace and Truth met, and Justice and Peace embraced. Jus- 
tice said to God, “Create man, for he will give charity.” 
Peace said: “Do not create him, for he will do nothing but 
quarrel.” Grace said: “Create him, for he will do deeds of 
kindness.” Truth said: “Do not create him, for he will do 
nothing but lie.” 

What did God do? He took Truth and threw her to the 
earth. And his attendant angels asked: “Dost Thou despise 
Truth, that is thy seal? Let her rise again from the earth!” 
—as it is written: And Truth rises from the earth. (Bereishith 
Rabba.) 


122 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


THE CREATION OF WOMAN 


When God, creating Woman, wished to take some part of 
man’s body, he said: “I will not take the head, that she may 
not be proud; nor the eye, that she may not be curious; nor 
the ear, that she may not be an eavesdropper; nor the mouth, 
that she may not be talkative; nor the heart, that she may 
not be envious; nor the hand, that she may not finger every- 
thing; nor the leg, that she may not be a gadabout; but I 
shall make her out of some discreet part of man, a part that 
is not seen, even when he is naked.” (And for this reason 
woman was created from the rib of the man.) And as He 
fashioned every part of her, He said: “Let her not be proud, 
nor curious, nor an eavesdropper, nor talkative, nor envious, 
nor fingering things, nor a gadabout.”’ But see how you 
women have undone all His care. For He did not make her 
out of the head, and she is proud, nor out of the eye, and she . 
is curious; nor out of the ear, and she is an eavesdropper; nor 
out of the mouth, and she is talkative; nor out of the heart, 
and she is envious; nor out of the hand, and she is always 
fingering things; nor out of the leg, and she is a gadabout. 
(Bereishith Rabba.) 


THE OBSEQUIES OF ABEL 


Adam and his mate were seated, weeping and lamenting 
for Abel, and they knew not what to do with him, for they 
knew nothing of interment. And behold, there came a raven, 
whose mate was dead, and he scratched out the soil, and took 
his dead mate and buried her, before the eyes of the man and 
the woman. Then Adam said: “I will do what the raven 
did.” And he hollowed out the earth and placed therein the 
corpse of Abel and buried him. (Pirke of Rabbi Eliezer.) 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 123 


NOAH’S VINE 


When Noah, after the Deluge, planted the vine, Satan ap- 
proached him and said: “What are you planting?” ‘The 
vine,” answered Noah. “Let me help you,” said Satan. “T 
will bring you excellent manure.” Noah accepted the offer. 
Then Satan went and got himself a ewe, a lion, a pig and an 
ape; he slaughtered these, one after the other, and poured 
their blood into the ground where the vine was planted. 
“So much for the man,” said the fiend to himself, and he 
was filled with joy. “From now on he will drink in with the 
wine all the vices of these beasts whose blood is mingled with 
the vine: if he will drink a little, he will be soft, like the 
sheep; if he drink much, he will be haughty and quarrelsome, 
like the lion; if he drink still more, he will become like the 
pig, and like the pig will roll in his filth; and if he drink more 
still, he will be laughable, like the ape, and like the ape will 
babble madness.” (Midrash Tanchuma.) 


ABRAHAM AND THE IDOLS 


Terach, father of Abram (Abraham), was a maker and seller 
of idols. One day he went out, leaving his son in care. And 
when a man came to buy an idol, Abram asked him: “How 
old are you?” And the other replied: “Fifty years, sixty 
years... .” “Alas,” said Abram, “you who are sixty years 
old will bow down before a thing that is but one day old!” 
And the man was ashamed and left without buying an idol. 

One day a woman came, carrying a plateful of rye. She 
said to Abram: “Take this, and go before one of the idols, 
and offer this sacrifice.’ Abram rose and took a stick and 
broke the idols; then put the stick in the hand of the largest 
idol. When his father returned, he asked: “Who has done 
this?” And Abram replied: “There came a woman, with 
a plateful of rye, and she approached me and said: ‘Take 
this, and go before one of the idols, and offer sacrifice” And 


124 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


I did so, and one of the idols said: ‘I want to eat first, and 
another said: ‘I want to eat first.’ And the biggest of them 
took this stick, and broke the others.” And Terach said: 
“You are mocking me!” and he brought him before Nimrod. 

Nimrod said to Abram: ‘We bow in worship to the fire.” 
Abram replied: “And we to water, which extinguishes fire.” 
Nimrod said: ‘So be it, let us bow to water.” And Abram 
replied: “Then let us bow to the cloud, which brings the 
water.” “So be it,” said Nimrod, “let us bow to the cloud.” 
“Then,” said Abram, “let us bow to the wind, which disperses 
the cloud.” “To the wind, then,” said Nimrod. ‘Then,” 
said Abram, “let us bow to the son of man, who resists the 
wind.” “Since you make merry with words,” said the king, 
“see, I bow to fire, and you shall be thrown therein; and let 
the God to whom you bow come and save you.” And Haran 
was there too, and his heart was divided between Abram and 
Nimrod. And he said: “If Abram gets the better of it, I 
will say that I am with Abram, and if Nimrod gets the better 
of it, I will say that I am with Nimrod.” Abram came forth 
alive from the furnace, and they asked Haran: “With whom 
are your” And he said: “With Abram.” They threw him 
into the fire: but his entrails were burned, and, when he came 
out, he died in front of his father, Terach. (Bereishith 
Rabba.) 


THE TORAH AND THE ANGELS 


It has been said by Rabbi Joshua Ben Levi: when Moses 
came into the upper heights, the attendant angels asked of 
God: “Lord of the Universe, what brings this son of woman 
among us?” And God replied: “He has come to receive the 
Torah.” And the angels asked: “Will Thou entrust to flesh 
and blood the jewel thou has preserved since the nine hun- 
dred and seventy-fourth generation before the making of 
the world? What is man, that Thou shouldst remember him, 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 125 


and the son of man that Thou shouldst consider him?” “An- 
swer them,” said God unto Moses. “Lord of the Universe,” 
answered Moses: “I am afraid lest they burn me with the 
breath of their mouths.” And God said: “Lay hold of the 
Throne of my Glory and answer them.” Then Moses spoke: 
“Lord of the Universe, what is there in the Torah that Thou 
wouldst give me? I read therein: J am the Lord thy God 
who brought thee forth from the land of Egypt.” Then, 
turning to the angels, he said: “Were you in Egypt? Were 
you oppressed of Pharaoh? What is the Torah to your I 
read again: Thou shalt have none other gods but me. Do 
you dwell in the midst of idolatrous nations? And I read 
still further: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 
What labour do you do? What need have you of rest? And 
further still: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy 
God in vain. Is there giving and taking among you? And 
Honour thy father and thy mother. Have the angels fathers? 
Have the angels mothers? Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt 
not steal, Thou shalt not commit adultery... . Do envy 
and evil desire exist among you?” Then God approved the 
gift, and the angels became the friends of Moses and gave him 
each one a present. (Sadbdath.) 


THE TORAH AND HUMANITY 


“And they encamped in the desert.’ The Torah was given 
to Israel publicly, in a place which belonged to no man. If 
it had been given in the land of Israel, Israel might have 
said to the peoples of the earth: “You have no portion in 
the Torah.” And for this reason it was given publicly and 
in a place which belonged to no man. Thinkest thou per- 
chance it was given in the night? No, for it is written: “And 
it was on the third day, when the morning was risen.” Think- 
est thou perchance it was given in silence? No, for it is 
written: “There was thunder and lightning.” Or thinkest 


126 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


thou perchance that these thunders were not heard? No, 
for it is written: “And all the people heard the crashing of 
the thunder... .” 

When the Holy One, blessed be He, pronounced the words, 
“Tf am the Lord thy God,” the earth trembled, and all the 
kings of the earth ran to Balaam, the impious, to question 
him. But when they heard him say that God was about to 
give the Torah to his people, they all returned, each one to 
his place. The peoples had been called together, that they 
might not say afterward: “Had the Torah been offered to 
us, we should have accepted it.” For it was offered to them, 
and they refused it, as it is written: “The Lord appeared on 
Sinai, and He burned upon Seir—for them: He showed him- 
self upon the Mountain of Pharan, on His right a place of 
fire—for them.’ And He revealed himself first to the chil- 
dren of Esau, saying: “Will you also accept the Torah?” 
They asked Him: “What is written therein?” And he an- 
swered: “Thou shalt not kill!” Then they said: “We cannot 
accept the Torah, for the blessing of our father, his heritage, 
was: By thy sword shalt thou live.” Then God revealed him- 
self to the Ammonites and to the Moabites, and He asked 
them: “Will you accept the Torah?” They asked Him: 
“What is written therein?” And when He replied, “Thou 
shalt not commit adultery,” they answered: “How shall we 
accept it? Are we not all the issue of adultery?” [Gen. 
19: 36.1] Then God revealed Himself to the children of 
Ishmael, saying: “Will you accept the Torah?” And they 
asked: “What is written therein?” And when he answered: 
“Thou shalt not steal,” they replied, “How shall we accept 
it? Was not the blessing of our father: He shall be a Savage 
man, and his hand shall be against every man, for I have been 
stolen away from the land of the Hebrews”? But when God 
came before the children of Israel, with the fire of the Torah 
on His right, they cried as with one voice: “All that the Lord 
hath said, we shall do and obey.” (Mechilta, Jethro.) 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 127 


MOSES AND THE SCHOOL OF AKIBA 


As Moses came into the upper heights he found the Holy 
One, blessed be He, seated and engaged in adding little crowns 
(ornaments and signs) to the letters of the Torah. “Lord of 
the Universe,” said Moses, “why shouldst Thou not give me 
the Torah without the ornaments?” And God answered: 
“After many generations there will arise a man, and Akiba 
will be his name; and on each of these ornaments he will 
propound new interpretations.” “Lord of the Universe,” said 
Moses, “may it be given to me to see him!” “Turn and go,” 
answered God. Then Moses turned and sat behind the eighth 
row in the school of Akiba; but he could understand nothing 
of what Akiba taught, and his strength was turned to weak- 
ness. And as Akiba propounded, his pupils asked him: “Rabbi, 
whence hast thou this?” And he answered: “From among 
the teachings which Moses received at Sinai.” Then the soul 
of Moses was calm again. He came again before the Holy 
One, blessed be He, and he said: “Lord of the Universe, such 
a man is Thine, yet wouldst thou give the Torah through 
me!” And God answered: “Be silent: such is My will.” 
(Menachoth.) 


THE MODESTY OF MOSES 


Rabbi Jochanaan Ben Levi said: As Moses came down 
from before the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, 
who had given him the Torah, Satan came before the Lord 
and said: “Lord of the Universe, where is the Torah?” And 
God replied: “I have given it to the earth.” Then Satan 
fled earthward and asked the earth: “Where is the Torah?” 
The earth answered: “God understandeth the way thereof, 
and he knoweth the place thereof.” [Job 28: 23.] He went 
to the sea, and the sea said: “It is not with me,” and to the 
abyss, and the abyss said: “It is not with me.” And Pestilence 
and Death answered him: “Our ears have heard speak of it, 
but where it is we know not.” 


128 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


Then Satan went before God, saying: “Lord of the Universe, 
I have searched for the Torah throughout the whole earth, 
and I cannot find it.” God answered: “Go, ask the son of 
Amram,” and Satan went to the house of Moses, and said: 
“Where is the Torah which the Lord hath given thee?” And 
Moses replied: “What am I, that the Lord should give me the 
Torah?” Then God said unto Moses: “Moses, thou hast lied.” 
But Moses answered the Lord: “Lord of the Universe, Thou 
hadst a hidden treasure which was Thy daily joy, and shall 
I boast that I possess it now?” And God said to Moses: 
“Since thou makest thyself small before the Torah, behold, 
it shall be called by thy name,” as it is written: Remember 
the Law of Moses, my servant. (Sabbath.) 


THE BURDENS OF THE TORAH 


And Korach called the whole congregation together against 
Moses and Aaron, and spoke words of mockery before them, 
saying: “There was a widow who lived in my neighbourhood, 
she and her two orphan daughters; and they had a field. 
They came into the field to work it, and Moses said: ‘Thou 
Shalt not yoke the ox and the ass together to make them 
labour.’ They came into the field to sow it, and Moses said: 
‘Thou shalt not sow thy field with seed of diverse kinds.’ 
They came to put their grain in the store, and Moses said: 
‘Thou shalt give me the first tenth and the second tenth.’ 
And it was just in the woman’s eyes. What did she do then? 
She rose and sold her field. | 

“Then she took two ewes, that she might clothe herself with 
their wool and have profit of their increase. And when they 
brought forth young, Aaron came and said: ‘Give me of the 
first-born, for this is the command of the Holy One, blessed 
be He.’ And it was just in her eyes, and she gave him the 
young ones. And the time of the shearing came, and Aaron 
said: ‘Thou shalt give me of the first shearing, for this is 
the command of the Holy One, blessed be He.’ And she said 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 129 


In her heart: ‘It is not within my strength to resist this 
man. So I will kill them and eat them.’ When she had 
slaughtered them, Aaron said: ‘Give me the shoulder, the 
jaws and the stomach, for this is the law of God.’ And she 
said in her heart: ‘How then? Even though they are slaugh- 
tered, shall I not save them from his hand?’ And she said: 
‘Then I will curse them!’ But he replied: ‘Then they are 
mine altogether, for such is the Law of the Holy One, blessed 
be He.’ And he took the ewes and went away with them; 
and the widow remained, weeping, she and her two daughters.” 
(Valkut, Korach, Numbers 16: 1.) 


THE DEATH OF MOSES 


When the day of the death of Moses drew near, God said 
to him: “Behold, thy day is come.” And Moses answered 
the Eternal and said: “Lord of the universe, after these many 
burdens which I have taken upon myself, Thou sayest: ‘Thy 
day is come.’ I do not wish to die: I would live, and recount 
my deeds.” “Thou canst not,” answered God, “for death is 
the lot of all mortal men . . . and I have resolved that Thou 
shalt not pass the Jordan. . . .” Then Moses Imposed a fast 
upon himself, and drew a circle close about him, and said: 
“I shall not leave this place until the decree is annulled.” 
And he clothed himself in sackcloth and put ashes on his 
head and prayed before God, and his prayers shook earth 
and heaven and all the orders of creation. And the creations 
of God thought: “Perhaps the hour is come when God will 
ordain a new creation.” But the echo of the Divine Voice 
resounded, saying, “The hour is not yet come when God will 
ordain a new creation.” Then what did God? He called 
to every tribunal, to every gate of heaven: “Ye shall not 
receive the prayer of Moses, nor shall ye permit it to come 
up before me, for his judgment is sealed.” And He said to 
the attendant angels: “Go ye down and shut all the doors 
of all the heavens, for a voice of prayer shakes with might 


130 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


the upper levels.” They sought to close the heavens, and 
were not able, because of the voice of Moses in prayer; for 
his prayer was like a sword, which pierces and tears asunder, 
and nothing can stay it. . . . And Moses said before God: 
“Lord of the Universe, Thou knowest my pain and tribulation 
until the Children of Israel believed in Thy Name and received 
Thy Torah and Thy precepts: and I said in my heart: ‘Since 
I have been with them in their suffering, I shall also be with 
them in their felicity,” and now the felicity of the Children 
of Israel is nigh, and Thou sayest: ‘Thou shalt not cross the 
Jordan... .’ Lord of the Universe, if Thou wilt not let me 
cross the Jordan, leave me at least in this world, that I may 
live, and not die.’ And God answered: “If thou diest not 
in this world, how shalt thou have the resurrection in the 
world to come?” “Lord of the Universe,” said Moses, “if 
Thou wilt not let me enter the land of Israel, let me be at 
least like a beast of the field, which eats grass and drinks 
water and which lives, and takes pleasure in this life.’ And 
God replied: “Thou hast spoken sufficiently: say no more.” 
“Let me be like a bird, which in the day flies throughout all 
the land and in the evening returns to its nest... .” Then 
God said to the archangel Gabriel: “Gabriel, go forth and 
bring me the soul of Moses.” “Lord of the Universe,” said 
the archangel, “the soul of Moses is worth sixty myriad souls: 
how shall I see him die?” Then God said to the archangel 
Michael: “Michael, go forth and bring me the soul of Moses.” 
“Lord of the Universe,” said the archangel, “I was his master 
and he my disciple: how shall I see him die?” Then God 
said to Samael the wicked: “Go forth and bring me the soul 
of Moses.” And the demon armed himself with wrath and 
girded on his sword and clad himself in cruelty, and went 
forth toward Moses; but when he saw Moses seated, writing 
out the whole secret Name of the Eternal, which is in splen- 
dour like the sun or like an angel of the Lord Sabaoth, 
Samael was seized with fear, and he said: “There is no angel 
that dare take the soul of Moses.” Then the echo of the 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 131 


Divine Voice sounded, saying: “The moment of thy death is 
come. . . . But fear not, Moses; I myself will be with thee, 
and I myself shall do thy obsequies.” Then Moses rose and 
sanctified himself, like the Seraphim; and the Holy One, 
blessed be He, came down for the soul of Moses from the 
highest heavens, and with him Michael, Gabriel and Sagsagel 
attendant. And Michael prepared the couch of the prophet, 
and Gabriel spread a veil of byssus for his head, and Sagsagel 
spread a veil of byssus for his feet... . Then God called 
the soul of Moses, saying: “My daughter, I gave thee the 
body of Moses for one hundred years for thy habitation; and 
now the end is come, hasten and tarry not.” “Lord of the 
Universe,” answered the soul, “I know that Thou art the 
God of all spirits, and that the souls of all the living and 
of all the dead are in Thy hand; Thow hast created me 
and formed me, and Thou gavest me for one hundred and 
twenty years the body of Moses; but is there in all the world 
a body which is purer than his? . . . I do not wish to leave 
it.” “Go forth, go forth,” said God, “and hesitate no longer; 
I shall bring thee up into the highest heavens and thou shalt 
dwell under the throne of My splendour, among the Cherubim 
and the Seraphim and the glorious hosts.” “Lord of the 
universe,” said the soul, “two angels have left the splendour 
of Thy Presence, Usa and Asael, who took delight in the 
daughters of men and were a corruption on earth... . But 
Moses, son of Amram, denied himself his wife since the hour 
when Thou didst reveal thyself to him in the burning bush. 
. .. I pray thee, leave me in the body of Moses.” Then 
God bent and kissed the mouth of Moses and in the kiss drew 
out his soul. (Debarim, Ch. XXXIV, par. 11, passim.) 


SOLOMON AND ASMODEUS 


The House of God could be built only of stones unfashioned 
by any instrument of iron [I Kings 6]. And Solomon said 
to his wise men: “How shall this be done?” They answered: 


132 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


“There is the skamir, which Moses put on the stones of the 
ephod.” He asked them: “Where can it be found?” “Call 
forth the woman-demon and her young; press them close with 
words, and perchance they know and will reveal it unto thee.” 
He called forth the woman-demon and her young, and he 
pressed them with words, but they answered: ‘We know not. 
Asmodeus knows, Asmodeus, king of the demons.” ‘Where 
can he be found?” asked Solomon. “He lives in a mountain; 
in the mountain he digs himself a pit, fills it with water, and 
covers it with a stone which he seals with his seal. Every 
day he ascends to heaven, to hear the lesson of heaven; then 
he descends to earth, to hear the lesson of earth; then he 
returns, examines the seal, uncovers the pit, drinks, covers it 
again, seals it with his seal, and goes forth.” 

Then Solomon commanded Benaya, son of Jeyoiaha, to 
bring him a chain on which was graven the Holy Name, and 
a ring on which was graven the Holy Name, and pieces of 
wool and casks of wine. Then Benaya went and dug a pit 
under the pit of Asmodeus, filled it with water and covered it 
with the wool; then he dug a pit above the pit of Asmodeus, 
poured into it the wine, covered it, and went and sat in a tree. 
Asmodeus came, examined the seal, uncovered the pits and 
found the wine. He said: “It is written: wine is a mockery 
and the draught which brings drunkenness brings rage, and 
in it is all excess; wine and debauchery are the same tempta- 
tion. I will not drink of it.” But he was thirsty and could 
not refrain from drinking, and he became drunk and slept. 
Then Benaya came and threw the chain around him and locked 
it. Asmodeus woke and sought to break the chain, but 
Benaya said: “The Holy Name is upon thee, the Holy Name 
is upon thee.” 

Solomon said to Asmodeus: “I wish to build the House of 
the Sanctuary, and I must find the shamir”’ And the demon 
replied: “It was not given to me in trust, but to the lord of 
the sea, and he gave it only to the heath-cock, under sacred 
oath. ...” So they sought out the nest of a heath-cock 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 133 


wherein lay the young, and they covered it with glass. And 
when the heath-cock returned, he sought to enter the nest and 
could not; so he brought out the skamir and laid it on the 
glass; but the messenger of the king threw himself upon the 
shamir and seized it, and the heath-cock killed himself, for 
he was under sacred oath to return the shamir. a 

Solomon kept Asmodeus until the House of the Sanctuary 
was built. One day, while they were alone together, Solomon 
said: “Wherein is it that you spirits are not greater than 
man.”” And Asmodeus answered: Take off my chain and give 
me the ring and I will show thee.” When the king had taken 
off the chain and had given him the ring, the demon took the 
ring and swallowed it; then, with one foot he touched heaven 
and with the other he was on earth, and he threw the king 
four hundred leagues. It was then that Solomon said: “What 
profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the 
sun?” And he went his way, begging from door to door. 
(Gittin.) ; 


SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA 


When they sought the heath-cock among the birds, they 
could not find him; and King Solomon, in anger, commanded 
that he be brought, and would have killed him. Then the 
heath-cock said to King Solomon: “Lord King, listen and 
hear my words. Three months I have been flying over the 
earth seeking a city which obeys thee not. And behold, I 
have found in the east a city called Kitor; many people 
dwell there, and they obey a queen called Sheba. If it please 
thee, Lord King, I will go to the city and bind in chains of 
iron its kings and princes and bring them before thee.” The 
thing pleased the King, and he commanded his scribes to 
write a letter and tie it to the wings of the heath-cock. The 
heath-cock came before the queen, who saw the letter under 
his wing, drew it forth and read it. And this was written 
in the letter: “I, Solomon, King, to thee and thy princes, 


134 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


greeting. Thou knowest without doubt that God has set me 
as king over the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, the 
demons and spirits and incubi; all the kings of all the heav- 
enly realms bend before me reverently; if thou wilt do like- 
wise, thou shalt receive great honour; but if thou wilt refuse, 
I will send against thee my kings, my legions and my horse- 
men; and my kings are the beasts of the field, my horsemen 
are the birds of the air, and my legions are the spirits and 
the incubi, which will strangle you in your beds.”’ When the 
Queen read these words she tore her raiment and commanded 
her sages and her counsellors to come before her and said: 
“Know you what King Solomon has sent me?” “We know,” 
they answered, “and we are not afraid.” But she heeded them 
not; and she commanded her almoners to send presents to the 
King, and, three years later, went to him herself. When 
King Solomon heard of her approach, he took his place in a 
chamber of crystal; she, seeing him, thought the King was 
enthroned in water, and disrobed herself to come to him. 
And when she had seen all his majesty, she said: “Blessed 
be the Lord, thy God, who taketh pleasure in thee and has 
put thee on the throne of royalty, to do grace and justice.” 
(II, Targum Esther.) 


THE BLOOD OF ZACHARIAH 


Nebusaradon, captain of the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, 
seeing the blood seethe in the court of the Temple, asked the 
Hebrews: “What is that?” And they answered: “It is the 
blood of sacrifices that has been poured out.” Then he poured 
out the blood of sacrifices, but the blood that seethed would 
not be stilled. Then he said: “If this be the truth you tell 
me, it is well; but if it be a lie, I will tear the skin from your 
bodies with iron combs.” And they replied: “There was 
among us a prophet, who taught us divine things; and as he 
reproached us, we fell upon him and slew him, and so many 
years have passed since then, and his blood will not be stilled.” 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 135 


Then Nebusaradon said: “I will give him peace.” He brought 
out the men of the Great Sanhedrin and of the Little San- 
hedrin, and he slaughtered them above the blood, but the 
blood would not be stilled. Then he brought the children out 
of the schools, and slaughtered them above the blood, but the 
blood would not be stilled. Then he cried: “Zachariah, Zacha- 
riah, I have slaughtered the best among them: wouldst thou 
have me slaughter all of them?” And as he spoke the blood 
ceased from seething and was still. Then he thought in his 
heart to do penance, saying: “If this be the fate of one who 
killed not even one man, what shall be my fate, who have 
slaughtered so many?” And he fled, and turned Jew. 
(Gittin. ) 


THE END OF THE TEMPLE 


When Jeremiah had left Jerusalem, an angel descended and 
placed his foot on the walls of the city and threw them 
down, crying: “Let the enemy come; let him enter the House 
which the Master has left: let him desecrate and destroy: 
let him go up to the vineyard and cut down the stock, for the 
keeper has forsaken it and is gone.” Then the enemy came 
and went up to the place where Solomon had been enthroned 
to take counsel with his ancients, the place where the Temple 
was planned and wrought. And they sat there, taking counsel 
on the manner of burning the Temple. But while they sat 
there they raised their eyes, and, behold, four angels descended 
from the heights, and each one bore a blazing torch, and they 
placed the four torches one on each corner of the Temple, 
and the Temple went up in flames. When the High Priest 
saw that the Temple was on fire, he took the key of the 
Sanctuary and threw it toward the heavens, crying: “Here is 
the key of Thy House, of which I was the faithless keeper.” 
Then he went forth to flee, but they caught him, and slaugh- 
tered him by the altar where every day he had offered sac- 
rifice. And his daughter came, weeping and crying: “Alas, 


136 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


my father, joy of my eyes!’”’ And they seized her and slaugh- 
tered her, and mingled her blood with the blood of her father. 
And when the priests and the Levites saw that the Temple 
burned, they took their harps and their trumpets and leapt 
into the flames and were consumed. And when the virgins who 
wove the sacred curtains saw that the Temple burned, they, 
to escape impurity, leapt into the flames and were consumed. 
And when King Zedekiah saw that the Temple burned he 
went out to escape by the underground passage which leads 
to Jerusalem and wherethrough the water flows. But he be- 
came weary and his sons went on before him. Nebusaradon 
saw him, and seized him, with his two sons, and sent them to 
Nebuchadnezzar. . . . And Zedekiah said to the King of the 
Chaldeans: “Kill me first, that I shall not look on the blood 
of my children.” But the sons spoke also, saying: ‘‘Kill us 
first, that we shall not look on the blood of our father.”’ But 
the king slaughtered the sons; he tore out the eyes of the fa- 
ther, and threw them into the fire, and led Zedekiah to Bab- 
ylon. And Zedekiah cried: “All ye children of men, come 
and see what Jeremiah prophesied for me, saying: “Thou shalt 
go to Babylon and thou shalt die in Babylon, and thine eyes 
shall not see Babylon.’ And I heeded not his words: and be- 
hold, I am in Babylon and mine eyes cannot see Babylon!” 
Then the prophet went forth from Anathoth, to go toward 
Jerusalem. And he lifted up his eyes and saw the smoke of 
the Temple. And he said in his heart: “Perhaps the children of 
Israel have done penance; perhaps they offer sacrifice, for the 
smoke of their incense goes up toward heaven.”’ And he drew 
near and went up on the wall, and he saw the stones falling 
into dust around the Temple. And he ran on, and began to 
cry: “By what roads have the sinners left? By what paths 
have the lost ones fled? I will go with them and be lost with 
them!’? And he went on and found the path covered with 
blood and all the places filled with the blood of the slaugh- 
tered on every side. And he looked down, and he saw the foot- 
steps of the little children who had been taken into exile, 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 137 


and he bent down and kissed them. And when he came up 
with the exiles he embraced them and wept with them and 
he began to speak and said: “As I came up again to Jerusalem, 
I lifted up mine eyes and I saw a woman seated on the summit 
of a hill. Her raiment was black and her hair hung down, 
and she wept and lamented, waiting for one to comfort her. 
I came near her and spoke to her, saying: ‘If thou art a woman, 
speak: if thou art a spirit, rise and begone.’ And she answered 
me, saying: “Dost thou not know me? I am she who had seven 
sons, and whose husband went away beyond the seas; and as 
I came up to this mountain to sacrifice, there came one and 
said: “Thy house has fallen, and thy seven sons are dead.” 
And now I know not for whom to weep and for whom to tear 
my hair.’ And I answered the woman, saying: ‘Art thou bet- 
ter than mother Zion, which is become a pasturage for the 
beasts of the field?’ And she said: ‘I am thy mother, Zion; I 
am the mother of the seven sons, of whom it is written: She 
is withered, she who bore seven sons.’ Then, speaking in the 
name of the Eternal, I said to her: ‘The evil which has befallen 
thee is like the evil which befell Job: the sons and daughters 
of Job were taken away from him, and thy sons and daugh- 
ters have been taken away from thee. I took away his gold 
and his silver, and I have taken away thy gold and thy silver: 
him I threw upon the dung-heap, and thee too I have cast upon 
a dung-heap. But as I prepared consolation for Job, so have 
I prepared consolation for thee; I doubled the sons and daugh- 
ters of Job, and I will double thy sons and daughters: I ren- 
dered him double his gold and his silver, and thy gold and thy 
silver will I render thee double; I cleaned away from him the 
filth of the dung-heap, and I will clean away from thee the 
dust and the filth. And thy habitation, O Zion, which men 
of flesh and blood have built, and which men of flesh and 
blood have destroyed, I, the Eternal, will rebuild in the time 
to come, as it is written: He bringeth together the children 
of Israel. Amen,’” (Psikta Rabbati, Jeremiah.) 


138 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


BAR KOCHBA AND THE SIEGE OF BETHAR 


There were fourscore thousand pairs of trumpeters around 
Bethar, and each trumpeter commanded many soldiers. And 
Bar Kochba was there, and he had two hundred thousand men, 
each one of whom had cut off a finger, to show his hardihood. 
And the wise men sent a messenger to Bar Kochba, asking: 
“Till when wilt thou mutilate the men of Israel?” But he 
replied: “How then shall I put them to the proof?” Then 
the wise men answered: “Accept in thine army no man who 
cannot, while he rides his horse, tear out by the roots a cedar 
of Lebanon.” And Bar Kochba had two hundred thousand 
men of each kind. And when he went out to war he said to 
God: “Lord of the Universe, be Thou neither against us nor 
for us.” 

Three years and a half Hadrian laid siege to Bethar. And 
Rabbi Eleazar of Modaim sat in sackcloth in ashes, praying, 
every day: “Lord of the worlds, enter Thou not into judg- 
ment to-day, enter Thou not into judgment to-day.” Then 
Hadrian would have given up the siege, but there was a certain 
Samaritan who said to him: “Go not hence: for I see a way 
to give the city into thy hands.” Then he entered into the 
city by the canal, and found Rabbi Eleazar, and went to him, 
and made as if he whispered something in his ear. And he 
was seen by men of the city, and they brought him before 
Bar Kochba, who said: “What didst thou say to him and 
what did he answer thee?” And the Samaritan answered: 
“If I tell thee, King Hadrian will slay me: and if I tell thee 
not, thou wilt slay me. I would rather the King slew me than 
thou. Rabbi Eleazar told me that he would give up the city.” 
Then Bar Kochba went before Rabbi Eleazar of Modaim and 
said: “What said the Samaritan unto thee?” And Rabbi 
Eleazar answered: “Nothing.” “And what didst thou say 
unto the Samaritan?”? And Rabbi Eleazar answered: ‘‘Noth- 
ing.” Then Bar Kochba struck Rabbi Eleazar with his foot, 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 139 


and killed him. Then a divine Voice was heard, saying: 
“Thou hast slain Rabbi Eleazar of Modaim, the right hand of 
Israel, the eye of Israel. Therefore thy hand shall wither and 
thine eye shall be extinguished.” And Bethar fell and Bar 
Kochba was slain. 

The head of Bar Kochba was brought to Hadrian. “Who 
slew this man?” he asked. “I slew him,” said the Samaritan. 
“Show me his body.” They showed him the body and it was 
encircled by a serpent. And Hadrian said: “If God had not 
slain him, who would have slain him?” 

And they advanced into the city and slaughtered the inhab- 
itants, and their horses marched in blood up to the nos- 
trils. . . . (Taanith, Tal. Jer.) 


THE EGYPTIANS BEFORE ALEXANDER 


The Egyptians once came before Alexander of Macedon, 
to complain against the children of Israel, saying: “See, it is 
written: And the Lord gave the people favour in the eyes 
of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as 
they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians. [Exodus 
12: 26.] And now let the Children of Israel render us again 
the gold and the silver which they took from our ancestors.” 
Then Gebia Ben Pesisa said to the sages: “Let me go up 
to plead our cause before Alexander. If I am vanquished, 
you will say: ‘You have vanquished only an idiot among us.’ 
If I am victorious you will say: ‘The Torah of our Master, 
Moses, was victorious over you.’” The sages gave their con- 
sent, and Gebia went up to plead against the Egyptians. He 
asked them: “From what sources will you take your argu- 
ments?” They answered: “From the Torah.” And Gebia 
said: “TI will take mine from the same source. It is written: 
The children of Israel dwelt in Egypt four hundred and thirty 
years. Begin then by rendering to the Children of Israel the 
hire of six hundred thousand Hebrews who laboured four 


140 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


hundred and thirty years.” “Answer him,” said Alexander. 
They pleaded: “Give us three days.” They were given three 
days, but answer they found none. (Sanhedrin.) 


THE VOYAGES OF ALEXANDER 


Alexander said to his sages: “I will go into Africa.” They 
answered: “Thou canst not, for dark mountains lie between 
us and Africa.” “I must go, notwithstanding; I ask you, 
what must I do?” They answered: “Bring asses from Lybia, 
which know their way in the dark; take with thee a cord, 
and where the shadows begin tie one end of the cord, and 
hold the other end in thy hand, so thou wilt find the way to 
return.” He did this and went forth, and he came to a city 
inhabited only by women. He would have made war on them, ~ 
but they said: “If thou slayest us, they will say: He conquered 
women; if we slay thee, they will say: What a king this was, 
women slew him!” Then he said: “Bring me bread.” They 
brought him a loaf of gold, on a table of gold. He asked 
them: “Can I eat gold?” They answered: “If it was bread 
thou didst need, was there none in thy kingdom, that thou 
hadst need to set out to so far a place?” He went thence, 
having written on the gate of their city: “I, Alexander, was 
a madman, having come to Africa to be taught by women.” 

Further on he rested himself on the bank of a river; he 
ate bread and had in his hand little salted fish. When the 
fish were washed in the water of the river they gave forth 
an excellent odour. Alexander therefore understood that the 
river came out of Paradise. He went up the river till he came 
to the gates of Eden. There he lifted up his voice, and cried: 
“Open the door!” But a voice answered him: “These are 
the gates of the Eternal. None but the just shall pass.” “I 
am a great King,” said Alexander. “Give me something to 
take away with me.” A skull was thrown to him. He took 
the skull and placed it in the cup of a balance, and placed 
all his gold and all his silver in the other cup; but the skull 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 14] 


weighed it down. He asked the rabbis: “What does this 
signify?” They answered: “It is the eye, the eye of flesh and 
blood, which sees gold and silver and is never sated.” “How 
shall I know that this is so?” “Take a pinch of dust and 
cover the eye, and the cup of the balance will rise. For it 
is written: Hell and the abyss are insatiable, and the eye of 
man is never sated.” (Tamid.) 


PARADISE 


There are two diamond gates to the Garden of Eden, and 
sixty-six myriads of angels attendant; and the glory of these 
gates is like the glory of the firmament. And when one of 
the just comes before the gates, his grave-clothes are removed 
from him, and they put on him eight robes of clouds of glory; 
they put on his head two crowns, one of pearls and precious 
stones and one of gold of Parvaim; they put eight branches 
of myrtle in his hand, and they praise him, saying: “Go and 
eat thy bread in joy”; and they bring him into a place where 
eight rivers flow, amid eight hundred perfumes of roses and 
myrtle. For each of the just there is a canopy, from under 
which four rivers flow out, one of milk, one of wine, one of 
honey, one of nard. There is a golden vine with thirty pearls 
above each canopy. And sixty angels stand before him, say- 
ing: “Go, eat thy honey in joy, for thou wast given to the 
study of the Torah, which is like honey; and drink the wine 
that was made with the grapes of the first six days of the 
Creation, for thou wast given to the study of the Torah, which 
is like wine. .. .” 

For them there is no night, for it is written: “The light of 
the just is like the light of the Divine Splendour.” And the 
just are forever renewed in three ages. In the first age, they 
become children, and pass into the division of children, tasting 
all the joys of childhood; in the second age, they become 
young men, and pass into the division of young men, tasting 
all the joys of manhood; in the third age they become old 


142 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


men, and pass into the division of old men, tasting all the joys 
of old age. 

In each of the corners of the Garden of Eden there are 
ninety myriads of perfumes of trees, and the smallest of them 
is more desirable than all the perfumes of earthly trees. And 
in each corner there are ninety myriads of attendant angels, 
singing with pleasant voices. And the Tree of Life stands 
in the midst, and its leafage covers all of the Garden of 
Eden, and the Tree has five hundred thousand flavours, of 
which no two resemble each other. And above the Tree there 
is a cloud of glory, and the wind strikes the cloud from the 
four corners of heaven, and its odours go forth from one end 
of the world to the other. And underneath the Tree are 
seated the pupils of the sages, who expound the Torah; and 
above each there is a canopy, one woven of stars, one woven 
of sun and moon, and between canopy and canopy there is a 
hedge of clouds of glory. (Yalkut, Genesis 2.) 


ELIJAH AND THE DAYS OF THE MESSIAH 


When the Holy One, blessed be He, will deliver Israel, 
three days before the coming of the Messiah, Elijah will come 
and stand on the mountains of Israel, and weep and say over 
them the words of lamentation: “Mountains of Israel, till 
when will ye stand in a land desolate and deserted?” His 
voice will be heard from one end of the world to the other. 
Then he will say to the mountains: “Peace cometh on earth, 
peace cometh on earth,” for it is written: “(How beautiful upon 
the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth glad tidings, 
or bringeth a message of peace.” And the wicked will hear 
and say unto each other: ‘“‘Peace cometh, peace cometh!” 

On the second day Elijah will return, and stand on the 
mountains of Israel and say: “Goodness cometh on earth, 
goodness cometh on earth,” for it is written: “Proclaim good- 
ness!’ And on the third day he will come again and stand 
on the mountains of Israel and say: “The world’s deliverance 


THE TWO ASPECTS OF TRADITION 143 


cometh, the world’s deliverance cometh,” for it is written: “He 
maketh the deliverance to be heard.” 

And when the wicked see this, they will say unto Zion: 
“Thy God reigneth.” (Yalkut, Isaiah 52: 7.) 


THE MESSIAH AND THE LIGHT 


“And God saw the light, that it was good.” These words 
teach us that the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw the days 
and deeds of the Messiah from before the time of the creation 
of the world; and He hid the Messiah and his days under His 
throne of glory. 

And Satan came before the Holy One, blessed be He, say- 
ing: “Lord of the Universe, for whom is the light hidden 
under Thy throne of glory?” And God answered: “For him 
who is destined to make thee turn again, thy countenance 
shamed.” Satan said: “Lord of the Universe, let me see him.” 
“See.” And when Satan had seen he trembled and fell upon 
his face and said: “Surely it is the Messiah, who is destined 
to bring me down to Hell, with all the nations, for it is written: 
He swalloweth the dead for eternity, and God, the Eternal, 
wipeth away the tears of all that mourn.” : 

Then the nations said before God: “Lord of the Universe, 
who is he into whose hands we shall fall, what is his name 
and his quality?” And the Holy One, blessed be He, an- 
swered: “Ephraim, Messiah of My justice, is his name; he 
will raise himself up and will raise up his days; and he will 
light the eyes of Israel, and no nation and no tongue will be 
able to stand before him. .. .” 

And the Holy One, blessed be He, began to make his cov- 
enant with the Messiah, saying: ‘Those that are hidden shall 
place thee by their sins under a yoke of iron, and stifle thy 
breath, and because of their sins thy tongue shall cleave to 
the roof of thy mouth. Is it thy will to bear with these 
things?” And the Messiah answered before God, saying: 
“Lord of the Universe, I will take these things upon me in 


144 THE TALMUDIC EPOCH 


joy, if only none in Israel will be lost and all will be saved 
in my days: not only those that are living in my days, but 
those that are hidden in the earth, and not only those that 
have died in my days, but all the dead that have died from 
the days of Adam until my days, and not only those that have 
died after having lived, but those that were dead at birth, and 
also those that Thou wast of a mind to create and didst 
not create. Let them all be saved in my days: and if this be 
so, I will accept all.” 

It is said: The week of the coming of the Messiah rods 
of iron will be brought and put on his neck, till he is bowed 
down; and he will weep and cry out, and his voice will mount 
to heaven, saying: “Lord of the Universe, what is my strength, 
what is my breath, what is my soul, what are my limbs? Am 
I not flesh and blood?” And the Holy One, blessed be He, 
will answer him: “Ephraim, Messiah of My justice, these 
things thou didst take upon thyself since the six days of the 
Creation. And now thy pain is like My pain. For since the 
day when Nebuchadnezzar the wicked destroyed My Sanctu- 
ary and burned My Palace, since the day when I exiled my 
children among the nations, since that day I swear, by thy 
life and by My head, I have not sat upon My throne. And 
if thou believest not, see the dew which is upon My head, for 
it is written: ‘My head is filled with dew.’” In that hour the 
Messiah will say before God: “Lord of the world, now my soul 
is calmed: that which sufficeth for the Master sufficeth for 
the servant.” (Yalkut, Isaiah 60: 1.) 


THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


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a wy 


Ps 


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: a 
= “ es 4 

in pow. 





The Rabbinic Epoch 


In the eighth and ninth centuries the Jewish Academies of Baby- 
Jonia are still in full vigor, and preserve the Talmudic tradition in 
the face of the Karaite attack. But after the tenth century Jewish 
culture, which till then had been concentrated first in Palestine, 
then in Alexandria, and then in Babylonia, spreads throughout 
Europe and all of northern Africa. The rabbis found academies 
which rise and fall with the waves of prosperity and persecution. 
The Jews in contact with the Arabs renew their sacred and profane 
poetry, which finds in Spain, during the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth 
centuries, its classic form. They rediscover Greek thought among 
the Arabs, and in turn transmit this to the Christian world. Their 
philosophers again seek to reconcile the Bible with Aristotle or Plato, 
passing from the traditionalism of Judah Halevi to the rationalism 
of Maimonides, and ending with the mysticism of the Kaballah. 
Meanwhile, as the Jewish spirit is lost in the great Cartesian move- 
ment with Spinoza, the true founder of modern exegesis, the larger 
part of the Jewish communities, sundered more and more from 
Christian society, enter into a period of complete decadence during 
the first half of the eighteenth century; orthodoxy degenerates into 
formalism, Talmudism into quibbling and mysticism into supersti- 
tion. Then, with Mendelssohn and Wessely, a new spirit is born and 
develops. . 


CHRONOLOGY 
A.D. 

797. Isaac the Jew goes with an embassy sent by Charlemagne 
to Haroun al Raschid. 

950. Moses ben Enoch founds the Yeshivah of Cordova. 
Chasdai ibn Shaprut minister of Abdul Rahman, Sultan 
of Cordova. 

1000-1200. Gershom founds the Yeshivah of Mainz. Raschi pre- 
sides at the Yeshivah of Troyes and Abraham ibn Daud 
at the Yeshivah of Narbonne. 

1090. The Emperor Henry IV guarantees the life and property 
of the Jews of Spire to Judah Kalonymos. 
147 


148 


1096. 


II 44. 
1146. 


I181. 
T2ET: 
T2072: 
1254. 
1274. 
1290. 
1305. 
1334. 


1391. 
1404. 


1450. 
1481-82. 


1492. 


1500. 
1503. 


L517. 
1530. 


1532-44. 


1567. 
1586. 


1600. 


THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


The First Crusade, accompanied by numerous massacres 
of the Jews. 

First ritual murder accusation (William of Norwich). 
Second Crusade. Massacres of Jews in France and 
Germany. 

Philip Augustus closes the Yeshivah of Paris. 

The French and English rabbis migrate to Palestine. 
Judah ben Mari ben Anatoli pensioned off by the Em- 
peror Frederick II to translate the Greek philosophers. 
After being exiled and recalled several times the Jews 
are banished from France by Louis IX. 

Pope Gregory X denies ritual murder in a bull. 

The Jews expelled from England. 

Solomon ben Adreth presides at the Yeshivah of Bar- 
celona. 

Casimir III of Poland accords the Jews the Privilegium 
Frediricanum. 

First massacres of Jews in Castile and Aragon. 
Marranos (converted Jews practising Judaism in secret) 
arrive in Holland. 

J. Colon presides at the Yeshivah of Pavia. 

The Inquisition against marranos established in Castile 
and Aragon. Torquemada. 

Thanks to the protection and the subsidies of the 
marrano Louis of Santagel, farmer of the royal taxes 
under Ferdinand the Catholic, Christopher Columbus 
fits out three ships and discovers America, having several 
Jews and marranos on board. The Jews expelled from 
Spain the same year. 

Joseph Polak presides at the Yeshivah of Cracow. 

The Jewish apostate Pfefferkorn attacks the Talmud, 
which is defended by the Catholic Reuchlin. 

Palestine becomes Turkish. 

Charles V grants Joselmann extension of the privileges 
of the Jews of Alsace. 

Luther’s pamphlets for and against the Jews. 

Joseph Nasi is made Duke of Naxos. 

The Kabbalist Luria claims to be the Messiah. The 
Jews of Poland established the Synod of the Four Prov- 
inces. 

Samuel Pallach ambassador of the Sultan of Morocco 
to Amsterdam. 


1642. 
1648. 
1657. 
1665. 
1703. 
1750. 
1753. 
1772. 
1782. 
1784. 


1789. 


THE RABBINIC EPOCH 149 


Isaac Aboab and 600 Jews of Amsterdam established 
at Pernambuco. 

First persecutions of the Jews of Poland. The Cossacks 
and Chmelnitzki. 

Menassah ben Israel obtains from Cromwell the right 
of Jews to settle in England. 

Sabbatai Zevi proclaimed the Messiah in Smyrna. 
Jonas Aron settles in Philadelphia. 

Frederick the Great accords general privileges to the 
Jews of Prussia. 

English Parliament authorizes the naturalization of 
Jews. 

Gustave III authorizes the Jews to settle in Stockholm 
and Goteborg. 

Joseph II, Emperor of Austria, publishes an edict of 
tolerance in favour of the Jews. 

Louis XVI abolishes the body tax which weighed on the 
Jews of Alsace. 

The Jews of the Three Bishoprics of Alsace-Lorraine 
empower Berr Berr to plead their cause before the 
French Assemblée Nationale. 





Chapter I 
HISTORY AND LEGEND — 
CHARLEMAGNE AND THE JEWS 


IN the year 4570, which is the year 810, the Christians and 
the Moors warred on each other, and the time was one of 
affliction for Jacob. A concourse of Israelites fled from Ger- 
many into Spain and England, flying before the sword, and 
many communities which were slow in flying sanctified by 
their death the God of Israel, for they refused to apostatize; 
not a single Jew who remained in Germany escaped death, 
and the mother was crushed upon her children in that day of 
wrath. But God pitied the fugitives who had escaped death, 
and he sent the Emperor Charlemagne, King of France, whom 
the peoples obeyed. Charlemagne brought from Rome Rabbi 
Kalonymos, of Lucques, who led the survivors back to Ger- 
many, and assembled again the dispersed of Judah. And 
Charlemagne made an alliance with them. Then they estab- 
lished schools in Germany to teach the law of God, as in 
former times, and Rabbi Kalonymos was their head: remember 
it, O God, in their favour. In Italy too the Jews drained the 
cup of bitterness; but Charlemagne came to their help. Re- 
member it, O God, in his favour, and sustain their cause. 
(Joseph Ha-Cohen, The Vale of Tears.) 


THE KINGDOM OF THE KHAZARS 


I. The Letter of Chasdai ibn Chaprut to the King of the 
Khazars (Cir. 958) 


The country in which we live is called in the Holy Tongue’ 


Sefared and in the tongue of the Arabs, who possess this 
151 


152 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


country, Andalusia. The capital of the kingdom is called 
Cordova, and the name of the King is Abd-el-Rahman, son 
of Mahommed, son of Heschem, son of Abd-el-Rahman... . 
He has gathered a great treasure of silver, gold and other 
precious things, and has assembled an army the like of which 
no other prince has assembled. Every year the condition 
of the treasury is submitted to me, amounting to hundreds 
of thousands of gold pieces, drawn mostly from the merchants 
who come hither from the various islands and countries: in 
regard to the treasury nothing is done except through me, by 
my advice and according to my decision. I give thanks to 
the mercy of God which has conferred these benefits upon 
me. . . . The princes of the earth, who know the power and 
the magnificence of my master, send him gifts of objects which 
are rare and precious, to conciliate him and win his good will. 
Among them are the King of Ashkenaz (Germany), the King 
of the Gabellians who are Slavs, the Emperor of Constanti- 
nople and others. . . . I questioned all the ambassadors touch- 
ing the fate of our Jewish brothers scattered throughout the 
exile, asking them if they had heard anything concerning those 
of them who languished in eternal slavery; but none could 
satisfy me, until the messengers from Khorazan, merchants, 
brought me reports of a state belonging to the Jews, the land 
of the Khazars. Then I humbled myself, adoring the God of 
heaven, and I sought around me a faithful messenger, to send 
him to your country that I might learn the whole truth re- 
garding the happy condition of the king my master as well 
as his subjects, our brothers. . . . He that proves the heart 
of man knows that I have not done this in order to be hon- 
oured, but solely to know the truth, to discover whether the 
exiled Israelites have somewhere a state or kingdom free from 
all foreign dominion and tribute; for, if it be so, I, renouncing 
all my honours and dignities, and leaving my family, will 
cross mountains and hills, and will go over earth and ocean, 
till I come to the place where lives the king my master, that 
I may see his greatness and his splendour, the glory of his 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 153 


ministers, the peace and prosperity of the remnant of Israel; 
when I see this my eyes will be illumined, my loins will rejoice 
and my lips will praise God, Whose infinite goodness is not 
withdrawn from the afflicted. I therefore ask Your Majesty 
to bethink him of the eager desires of his servant, and not- 
withstanding the great distance to command his private scribes 
to send an affirmative answer to his servant, that I might know 
all concerning their condition, and that I might learn how 
Judaism was brought into your country... . (Chasdai ibn 
Chaprut, in Carmoly, Travels in the Holy Land.) 


Il. Reply of the King of the Khazars 


. . . Weare of the posterity of Japhet and the descendants 
of his son Togarma. We read in the genealogic books of our 
forefathers that Togarma had ten sons; we are the issue of 
Khozar, the seventh. It is set down in our chronicles that 
from his days onward our ancestors had to fight against peoples 
more numerous and more powerful than they. . . . Some cen- 
turies later there came a descendant of Khozar, King Bulan, a 
wise man and God-fearing, who drove away the soothsayers, 
and purified the country of idolatry. . . . The Kings of Edom 
[Christians] and of Ishmael [Mohammedans] sent their am- 
bassadors to him with great treasures, and also sent their 
learned men to convert them to their religions. But the King, 
in his wisdom, also sent for a learned Israelite, well versed in 
all matters; and he then had them as it were compete, so 
that each one expounded with fire the principles of his own 
religion and sought to refute the arguments of his antagonists. 
. . . Then the King said to the monk: “Of the two religions, 
that of the Israelite and that of the Ishmaelite, which is to 
be preferred?” The priest replied: “That of the Israelite.” 
Then he asked the Cadi: “Between the faith of the Israelite 
and the faith of the Edomite, which is to be preferred?” The 
Cadi replied: “The religion of the Israelite is much to be 
preferred to the religion of the Nazarenes.” To this the 
Prince answered: “You both acknowledge that the faith of the 


154 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


Israelites is the wiser and the better; I therefore choose that 
religion, the religion of Abraham.” From that time on God 
always helped him and strengthened him, and he and his people 
were all circumcized. He then sent for the wise men of Israel, 
who expounded before him the law and the precepts. From 
that time on we have followed this religion: God be praised 
for it eternally. .. . (lbid.) 


THE NEW SCHOOLS 


After the death of Hiskia, who was Head of the Academy 
and Prince of the Exile, the Academies and Gaons ceased to 
exist. But even before that time [about the year 960] the 
Holy One, Blessed be He, had decreed the suspension of 
the subsidies which were being sent to the Academies from 
Spain, from Magreb, from Africa, from Egypt and from Pal- 
estine. The thing came to pass as follows. There came from 
the city of Cordova a captain by the name of Ibn Damahin, 
whom Abd-el-Rahman, the Arab King of Spain, had placed at 
the head of a fleet. This commander of mighty ships went 
forth to conquer the ships of the Christians and to harass the 
cities on the coast. They went as far as the coast of Palestine, 
went round the islands of the Greek Archipelago, and there 
encountered a ship which was carrying four of our sages from 
the city of Bari to a city called Safsatin. These sages were 
travelling for the purpose of collecting funds for the Acade- 
mies. Ibn Damahin captured the ship and made the sages 
prisoners. One of them was Rabbi Shushiel, son of Rabbi 
Chananel; the second was Rabbi Moshe, father of Rabbi 
Enoch (he was taken prisoner together with his wife and his 
son Enoch, who was then a young boy); the third was Rabbi 
Shemariah, son of Rabbi Elkanan; as to the fourth, I do not 
know his name. As the captain sought to violate the wife of 
Rabbi Moshe, for she was a very beautiful woman, she cried 
out to her husband in the sacred tongue, and asked him if 
those who are drowned will wake with the other dead on the 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 155 


day of the resurrection. He replied: “The Lord said: I will 
bring them again from Bashan, from the depths of the sea 
will I bring them again.” When she heard that she would 
be resurrected, she leapt into the sea and was drowned. 
These sages spoke not concerning themselves and their 
learning. The Captain sold Rabbi Shemariah as a slave in 
Alexandria, Egypt; thence Rabbi Shemariah went to Cairo 
and founded a school there. Rabbi Shushiel was sold on the 
coast of Africa; and he made his way to the city of Kairouan, 
which was then the mightiest Arab city of the Maghreb. 
Rabbi Shushiel became the head of a school. . . . Then the 
captain returned to Cordova, where he sold Rabbi Moshe and 
his son Enoch. They were bought into liberty by the people 
of Cordova, who knew not the great learning of these captives. 
There was in Cordova a Synagogue called the Synagogue 
of the House of Study, and in it there was a judge by the 
name of Rabbi Nathan, who was a man of great piety. Nev- 
ertheless, those of Spain were not deeply versed in the words 
of our teachers, whose memory be blessed. However, with 
the little learning they commanded, they carried on discus- 
sions and interpreted the Law. One day Rabbi Nathan, the 
judge, was interpreting the law concerning the lustrations 
which are required for every sprinkling, concerning which it 
is spoken in the Tractate of the Talmud, Yoma, and they 
were not able to offer an explanation. Then Rabbi Moshe, 
who, as beadle, was seated in a corner, rose and said: ‘“Mas- 
ter, that would make too many lustrations.” "When the master 
and the pupils heard these words, they were astonished and 
they asked Rabbi Moshe to explain the law; and he explained 
the law in the correct way. Then they asked him to explain 
other difficulties, and they continued their questions, all of 
which he answered out of the abundance of his learning. 
There stood, outside the house of study, a number of plaintiffs 
who were not permitted to enter until the pupils had ended 
their lesson. On that day Rabbi Nathan, the judge, went 
out, and the plaintiffs followed him, but he said: “I am no 


156 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


longer the judge; this man, who is dressed in sackcloth and 
who is a stranger, he is my teacher and my master, and I am 
his pupil from to-day on. And now, name him judge of the 
community of Cordova.” They did so. And the community 
set aside for him a generous recompense, and gave him precious 
raiment and a carriage. The Captain, learning of this, desired 
to annul his sale, but the King would not permit it, for he 
was greatly pleased to learn that the Jews of his Kingdom 
were no longer dependent on the people of Babylon. (Abra- 
ham ibn Daud, “Book of the Tradition,” in Neubauer, Medi- 
eval Jewish Chronicles, I.) 


THE FIRST CRUSADE (1096) 


In the reign of Philip, son of Henry, King of F rance, Peter 
the Hermit went to Jerusalem, saw the sufferings of the 
Christians who lived there and, on his return, related it to his 
brothers; this was in the year 4856, which is the year 1006. 
The Christian kings then offered to go and conquer Judah and 
Jerusalem; from all countries there gathered an enormous con- 
course of men and women who would go with them, and with 
this year began a time of pitiless desolation for the Israelites 
in Christian countries, wherever they were scattered ; and the 
times were such that they became sick of life; terrible and 
numberless were the afflictions which they bore, for there rose 
against them the multitude of France and of Germany which 
had gathered for the Crusade, an evil-faced multitude, which - 
neither spared the aged nor took pity on children. Their cry 
was: “Let us avenge our Saviour on the Jews, let us wipe them 
out from among the peoples, unless they accept another god 
and become Christians like ourselves; and only when this is 
accomplished will we set out.’”? When the Jews of Germany 
heard this, their hearts melted in them and became like water, 
and pain and trembling seized them as with a woman in 
labour; they lifted their eyes to heaven, set aside fast days 
and cried to the Eternal in their misery, but the Eternal had 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 157 


hidden himself behind clouds which no prayer could pierce. 
On the twenty-third day of the month the crusaders descended 
like night wolves against the holy community of Worms, and 
many of the members took refuge in the house of the Bishop 
for fear of disaster. The attackers rushed into the houses 
and put to the sword whomsoever they found, sparing neither 
man nor woman; they sacked the houses, broke down the 
towers, and stretched out their hands to the plunder, and 
there was none to save from them in that day of divine wrath. 
They threw down the scrolls of the law, tore them to pieces 
and trampled them underfoot, and they shouted in the house 
of God as on a day of celebration, devouring Israel, and leav- 
ing alive but a small remnant, whom they forced to deny their 
God, the God of Israel, but who, when the fury was once 
passed, returned again to the God of their fathers. As to the 
slaughtered, they sanctified the Holy One of Israel in the open 
light, and chose death rather than life that they might not 
become faithless to God. Many immolated themselves, and 
this one slew his brother, or his friend, his beloved wife, his 
sons and daughters: tender mothers slaughtered with firm 
hand and heart their little children, and the little ones pro- 
nounced the Unity of God as they gave up their souls on 
the bosoms of their mothers. When the holy community of 
Mayence learned the dreadful news, they fled to the palace 
of the Bishop, thinking to find there a refuge from death. 
But the enemy rose against them on the third day of the 
month of Sivan, and put them to the sword. Age was not 
spared in that day of terror. When the enemy found them, 
they cried with one voice, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, 
the Lord is One,” and stretched out their hands against those 
that were the delight of their eyes, and slew their wives and 
their little ones. And in that day of horror the wives too 
dedicated themselves to death. Behold the warriors shout 
without and the angels of peace weep bitterly for this holy 
community, given over to the fierce destroyer. . . . And for 
this I beat my bosom and weep aloud, and I run from place 


158 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


to place, naked and despoiled, because of the thirteen hun- 
dred souls who became a booty and a prey in that day of 
horror. Will this suffice for thine anger, O God of Israel? 
Sixty poor wretches hid themselves in the treasury, and the 
Bishop sent them out among the villages, that they might save 
themselves, but the enemy pursued them and put them to 
the sword. Whithersoever they fled from death, the very 
stones cried out to betray them, for people were given freedom — 
on that day to sack and destroy. Two men escaped death— 
they were baptized by violence: the name of one was Uri, of 
the other Ben David. Ben David was the chief of the com- 
munity, and his two daughters were with him. All of them 
turned back again to the God of their fathers: and Isaac 
Ben David slew his two daughters during the festival of 
Weeks, and, having set fire to his house, made a burnt offer- 
ing to the Lord; and he and his friend Uri went to the syn- 
agogue and stood before the tabernacle, and they died there 
as the flames ascended, and their souls mounted to heaven. 
My heart, my heart is moved for those that have died, and 
my soul will not be comforted for those that died by fire. 
Almighty God, protect their souls, judge their cause, avenge 
the slaughter of Thy servants, as it is written: “But when 
I will make them innocent of all their sins, I shall not make 
them innocent of the blood which they have shed, and the 
Eternal shall inhabit Zion.” (Joseph Ha-Cohen, The Vale 
of Tears.) 


DAVID EL RUI 


In the year 4923, which is the year 1163, there was in 
the city of Amadia, which is on Mount Haphton, Persia, a 
Jew by the name of David el Rui. There were in the city 
of Amadia about a thousand heads of Jewish families; the 
language they spoke was Syriac, and they had to pay the 
king an annual tax of one gold-piece for every male child 
above the age of fifteen. This David el Rui had studied in 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 159 


Bagdad (which is in Babylonia) under Rabbi Jacob, and had 
acquired considerable knowledge of the six Talmudic treatises, 
of science and of magic. Having thus become exceedingly 
proud, he gathered together a large number of the Jews who 
were established on Mount Hephton, in order to go up and 
fight against Jerusalem, and he said to the assembled Jews: 
“Iam the Messiah.” Many believed in him, and said: “Verily, 
he is our Messiah,” and they rose in revolt against the King 
of Persia, and put a number of people to the sword. The 
king, seeing he could not overcome him, began to negotiate 
with David, and David came to him confidently. He told 
the king concerning his visions, but having said: “I am the 
anointed of the Lord, honour me this day,” the king became 
angry against him and threw him into prison, in the city of 
Daghestan, which is on the river Gozan; and he was put in 
irons. 

But at the end of three days, while the king was consulting 
with his princes and servants with regard to the revolted 
Jews, David suddenly entered: for, with the aid of his science, 
he had broken through doors of bronze. The king and his 
counsellors were greatly amazed, and the king asked him: 
“Who brought you hither?” And David replied: “I have 
come with the aid of my knowledge, for I fear neither you 
nor your servants.”” And when the king ordered his officers 
to seize him, they asked: “Where is he?” David spoke to 
them without being seen, and they were greatly amazed. 
Then David went again to the palace and spoke again with 
the king as follows: “You cannot conquer me, and with your 
own eyes you shall see me go my own way.” And going forth, 
he took his turban off his head, spread it on the river Gozan, 
and crossed the river thereon while king and counsellors 
watched in terror. Then the king ordered many men to pursue 
him in boats, but they could not catch him. That same day, 
making use of the Tetragrammaton, or Forbidden Name, he 
covered the distance of a ten-day journey; he told his brothers 
in Amadia all that had happened to him, and they were 


160 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


greatly moved. Then the king sent word to the Commander 
of the Faithful, the Khalif of Bagdad, saying: “Speak to the 
Prince of the Exile and to the heads of the Jewish congrega- 
tion, bidding them turn back David from his wicked ways, or 
I shall put them to death.” This was a troubled time for the 
house of Jacob: the Jews of Persia were greatly terrified, and 
they were seized with trembling, like a woman in childbirth. 
And they wrote to David, saying: “Such deeds should be far 
from you, for the days of the deliverance are not yet come; 
we have not seen the signs, and men will not be conquered by 
force.” They sent out Zaccai, the Prince of the Exile, and 
Rabbi Joseph Barhan, bearing this letter, but David would 
not listen to them, and it was a time of anguish and affliction. 
They strengthened themselves by fasting and implored God, 
who received their prayer. And God raised up the Turkish 
prince, Zain Aldin, who was at that time carrying his tribute 
to the king. This prince called the father of David el Rui, 
and said to him: “I will give you ten pieces of gold if you 
will kill David or deliver him to me.” And this man, seeing 
how the Jews of Persia were endangered, smote David to 
the heart while he slept at night. Then the Jews of Persia 
came out of the darkness of their plight, and gave thanks to 
the Lord; and the king of Persia rejoiced in his heart . . . and 
the Jews gave the man a hundred pieces of gold, for they 
were many and wealthy, and the anger of the king was pacified. 
(Joseph Ha-Cohen, The Vale of Tears.) 


THE PLAGUE IN ENGLAND 


After a certain time there was a pestilence in England, and 
many persons died of it every day. ... The king and the 
nobles assembled. “Why,” they asked, “and in what manner, 
have these afflictions come upon us?” The nobles replied: 
“It is because of the crimes of the Jews that this has come 
to pass.” Then they forced the Jews to be baptized by vio- 
lence. But the tribulations and misfortunes of England having 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 161 


doubled and pest and famine and war having decimated the 
country . . . the king had two tents put up on the shores of 
the sea; in one of these he put the Law of Moses, and in 
the other the cross; then a platform was raised for the king. 
Then they brought the converted Jews, and the king said to 
them, in a friendly voice: “You know well that it was in 
order to lighten our anguish that I have turned you from your 
God by violence, but I see now that our afflictions have been 
doubled, and that our anguish has been drawn like a tight 
noose about our necks, because of what was determined against 
you; but now I leave you to choose, as heretofore, what you 
desire. Know that in one tent on the seashore there is the 
Law of Moses, and in the other there is the new law; let 
each one of you choose that which is better in his sight, for 
he shall have to observe it for ever thereafter.” All the Jews 
then ran toward the Law of Moses, they and their wives and 
their children, but they could only enter the tent one by one, 
for a trick had been played. And so it was that as they came 
in one by one they were slaughtered, and were thrown into 
the sea without any of the others knowing. And many of 
our brothers were thus slain on that day of terror, and became 
food for the fishes of the sea and for the birds of the air. 
(Joseph Ha-Cohen, The Vale of Tears.) 


THE CHARGE OF RITUAL MURDER 


In the time of the just king, Alphonso the Great [13th 
century], it was told to the judges that, on the eve of Easter, 
a Christian had entered a Jewish house, and he had been heard 
to cry for help and had never been seen again. A search was 
made in the house of the Jew, but without any result. The 
king asked the accusers: “Why did you not go to the help of 
the Christian?” They answered: “We should have had to 
break in the door and were afraid of committing a crime.” 
“But,” the Jew said, “the door of my house has been broken 
these ten days, in order to capture a slave who had taken 


162 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


refuge in my house, and it is still broken.” The king did not 
believe that the crime had taken place. “This Jew,” he said, 
“is an old man. He has not even strength enough to kill a 
louse.” But the accusers held firm and brought false wit- 
nesses who even gave the name of the Christian. “His name,” 
they said, “was Pedro Guzman, the husband of Beatrice, the 
priest’s servant.”’ And they also gave his description; small 
in build, red hair, forked beard, and one-eyed. The Jew was 
put to the torture; he confessed, and was condemned to be 
executed. When the sentence was being cried through the 
town, the bishop was passing through to go to the king. 
“What is this I hear?” he said. “The sentence says that 
Pedro Guzman was killed by the Jew on January ist, and 
only yesterday I saw this Guzman in a neighbouring village 
of the town, and he will be here to-day or to-morrow.” “Why 
then,” asked the king, “did the Jew confess?” ‘This was a 
confession extracted by torture,” said the bishop, “and words 
spoken under torture are as false as the deeds of princes.” 
They began to search for Guzman, and he was led before the 
king, who was overjoyed to know the truth, and praised God 
and thanked the bishop. “Your majesty may now see,” said 
the bishop, “that words extorted by torture are false.” (Sol- 
omon ibn Verga, The Scourge of Judah.) 


THE SPANISH EXPULSION 


Since the time of Brother Vincent, the New Christians [con- 
verted Jews] had multiplied in Spain; they had made alliances 
with the greatest families in the country and had acquired a 
mighty influence. On the other hand, the Jews had also multi- 
plied greatly until the time of Ferdinand and Isabella. These 
two princes appointed inquisitors over the New Christians to 
find out whether they were not relapsing into their former ways, 
and they were made objects of scorn and contempt, and many 
of them were burned in those days. . . . These two princes, 
seeing that multitudes of Jews were returning to the House 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 163 


of Israel, drove the Jews from their country, so that the New 
Christians would not go in their ways, as many had done until 
then. All the hosts of the Lord, the exiles of Jerusalem in 
Spain, left this accursed country in the fifth month of the 
year 5252, which is the year 1492, and were scattered to the 
four corners of the earth. From Carthaginia there went forth, 
on the 16th day of Ab, sixteen large ships laden with human 
cattle, and this took place in all the other provinces. The 
Jews went whither the winds carried them, to Africa, to Asia, 
to Greece and to Turkey, in which countries they live to this 
day. And they suffered greatly and many tribulations assailed 
them, and the Genoese sailors treated them with cruelty. 
Many of them died of despair on the journey: the Mussul- 
mans disembowelled some of them to get the gold which they 
had swallowed to hide it, and others they threw into the 
waves; and there were others who were devoured by pestilence 
and by famine; and others the captains set down naked on 
desert islands, and others were sold as slaves in the mighty 
city of Genoa and the cities which owned her sovereignty. 
Among those who had embarked for Italy there was a cantor 
by the name of Joseph Cibbon, who had a son and several 
daughters, and one of his daughters awoke the love of the 
captain. The mother was informed of this, and preferring 
death to dishonour she threw her daughters into the sea and 
leapt after them. The sailors, seeing this, were seized with 
horror, and they put boats out and succeeded in rescuing one 
of them. The name of one of the sisters was Paloma, which 
means a dove: and her father lamented her, saying: “And 
they took the dove and threw her into the waves.” ‘There 
were many Jews who remained in Spain, not having the 
strength to flee, and there were some whose hearts were un- 
touched by God, and many at this time apostatized. See, O 
God, against whom Thou hast stretched out thine hand! Shall 
a man eat his own offspring? For there were some who were 
put down on islands near Provence, and there was one Jew 
whose old father lay dying of hunger, and who went begging a 


164 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


morsel of bread in this strange place, and no one would give 
it to him. Then this man went to sell his youngest son for a 
piece of bread, but when he returned he found only a dead 
body. He tore his raiment and went back to the baker to 
get his son, but the baker would not return him; and he uttered 
heart-rending cries and shed bitter tears, but there was none 
to help him. God, my God! All these miseries have befallen 
us, yet we have not forgotten Thee, nor have we betrayed our 
covenant. And now, O God, estrange thyself no longer from 
us, and deliver us soon, because it is for Thy sake we are 
slaughtered, and for Thy sake we are no better than sheep 
which are destined for the slaughter. Help us, God of our 
salvation, sustain our cause and save us for Thy Name’s sake. 
(Joseph Ha-Cohen, The Vale of Tears.) 


THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE EXILE 


By the fear of heaven and by the glory of God, I bear 
witness that the number of the children of Israel who were 
in Spain was three hundred thousand, in the year in which 
their splendour was despoiled; and the value of their belong- 
ings, in houses and in furnishings, and the abundance of their 
blessings was more than ten million gold ducats, a wealth which 
they had accumulated against the day of misfortune. And 
to-day, four years after the expulsion, everything has disap- 
peared; of them all there remain some ten thousand men, 
women and children, in the various countries; and in the coun- 
tries to which they have come, the wealth which they once 
possessed and brought with them from their native land, has 
utterly disappeared. (Isaac Abarbanel, Preface to the Com- 
mentary on Daniel.) 


SOLOMON MOLKHO (DIED 1532) 


There rose in Portugal a scion of a house of the Jews that 
had lived scattered in this land since the days of the persecu- 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 165 


tion. While still young, he was one of the secretaries of the 
king; however, when he saw this David Reubani [one of the 
false messiahs of that time] his heart was touched by the 
Almighty, and he returned to the God of our fathers and was 
circumcized. At that time he knew nothing concerning the 
Law of God, but after his return God gave him the wisdom 
of Solomon; he became in a short while the most learned of 
men, and many admired him. He went later to Italy, and was 
courageous enough to discourse on the Law of our God before 
kings, and did not turn back through fear. He went to Turkey, 
and returned to Rome, and there conversed with Pope Clement, 
who was gracious to him despite all the theologians and gave 
him permission, written, and sealed with his name, to establish 
himself wheresoever he desired and openly to carry the name 
of Jew. He studied the Kaballah, and words of grace came 
from his lips, for the spirit of God found expression in him, 
and the divine word was ever on his tongue... From the depths 
of the Kaballah he had drawn marvellous words, and these 
he wrote on tablets and sent them to his friends in Salonika, 
who printed them. He preached publicly in Boulogne and in 
other cities; a multitude of persons pressed round him to drink 
of his wisdom and to try him by their riddles, but Solomon 
answered all their questions. . . . Later, he sought to arrange 
a controversy with the Emperor concerning matters of faith, 
and set out for Ratisbon, the Emperor being there; and he 
succeeded in getting word with the Emperor, but the Emperor 
remained firm, would not listen to him, and finally, being an- 
gered by him, threw him into prison. The Emperor leaving 
for Italy, Solomon was loaded with irons, and carried on a 
chariot in the imperial train, till he came to Mantua, and 
there again he was cast into a cell; and the Emperor having 
consulted the doctors, who decided that this man had deserved 
death, the order was given that Solomon be taken from prison 
and burned to death. And so one morning he was bound and 
gagged, and brought forth to the place of torture. The whole 
city was in tumult because of him, and when the logs were 


166 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


already kindled, one of the imperial officers ordered the gag 
removed from his mouth, having something to say to him from 
the Emperor himself. This was done. “The Emperor sends 
me to you,” he said, “to say that if you turn back from the 
evil of your way, he will be merciful to you, he will preserve 
your life and you shall live by him: but if you refuse your 
fate is irrevocably sealed.” But Solomon neither rose nor 
moved, and replied like a saint and like an angel of the Lord: 
“My heart is heavy only for the time which I have passed in 
the Catholic religion: but now, do with me as you will, and 
may my soul return to the dwelling-place of the F ather, as 
it was in my earliest years, for I was happiest then.” At 
this the executioners, seized with rage, threw him on to the 
flaming logs, and offered him to the Lord as a burnt sacrifice 
which went up in smoke. And the Lord found the incense 
pure and received the stainless soul of Solomon into the gar- 
den of Eden, and there he became His disciple and His joy 
for all time. (Joseph Ha-Cohen, The Vale o f Tears.) 


THE JEWS AND COSSACKS IN POLAND 


In the year 1648, fixed by that lying book, the Zohar, the 
Jews of Poland expected the coming of the Messiah and the 
time of redemption, when they would be in power, and, there- 
fore, they were more reckless and careless than was their cus- 
tom at other times. Bloody retribution was not long delayed, 
and struck the innocent with the guilty, perhaps the former 
more severely than the latter. 

It proceeded from a man who understood how to make use 
of the increasing hatred of the Cossacks for his purposes, and 
who was regarded by his countrymen as their ideal. Bogdan 
Chmielnicki [ Russian, Chmel], born about 1595, died 1657, 
before whom all Poland trembled for several years, gave Rus- 
Sia the first opportunity of interfering in the Polish republic, 
and was a frightful scourge for the Jews. Chmielnicki, brave 
in war and artful in the execution of his plans, impenetrable 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 167 


in his schemes, at once cruel and hypocritical, had been vexed 
by the Jews, when he held the subordinate position of camp 
secretary [Pisar] of the Cossacks, subject to the house of 
Koniecpolski. . . . His remark to the Cossacks, “The Poles 
have delivered us as slaves to the cursed breed of Jews,” 
was enough to excite them. Vengeance-breathing Zaporogians 
and booty-loving Tartars in a short time put the Polish troops 
to flight by successful manceuvres (May 18, 1648). Potocki, 
the lieutenant-general, and 8,000 Poles, according to agree- 
ment, were delivered to the Tartars. After the victory, the 
wild troops went eastward from the Dnieper, between Kiev 
and Pultava, plundering and murdering, especially the Jews 
who had not taken flight; the number of the murdered reached 
several thousand. Hundreds underwent baptism in the Greek 
Church, and pretended to be Christians, in order to save them- 
selves. Fortunate were those who fell into captivity with the 
Tartars; they were transported to the Crimea, and ransomed 
by Turkish Jews. Four Jewish communities (Porobischa and 
others) of about 3,000 souls resolved to escape massacre by 
surrendering to the Tartars with all their property. They 
were well treated, and sold into Turkey, where they were ran- 
somed in a brotherly manner by those of their own race. The 
Constantinople community sent a deputy to Holland to collect 
money from the rich communities for the ransom of cap- 
tives. 

Unfortunately for the Poles and Jews, King Vladislav, for 
whom Chmielnicki had shown some respect, was removed by 
death. During the interregnum of several months, from May 
to October, 1648, the usual Polish dissension occurred, which 
crippled every attempt at resistance. At first Chmielnicki 
drew back, apparently inclined to negotiate with the crown, 
but he gave his creatures full power to ravage the Polish 
provinces. Regular troops of murderers, called Haidamaks 
[the Tartar word for partisans], were formed under brutal 
leaders who cared not a straw for human life, and who rev- 
elled in the death-struggles of their Polish and Jewish foes. 


168 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


In the name of religion they were urged by the Greek popes 
to murder Catholics and Jews. The commander of each troop 
had his own method of exercising cruelty. One had thongs 
slung round the necks of Catholic and Jewish women, by which 
they were dragged along; this he called “presenting them with 
a red ribbon.” A few weeks after the first victory of the 
Cossacks, a troop under another of these chiefs advanced 
against the stronghold of Nemirov, where 6,000 Jews, inhab- 
itants and fugitives from the neighbourhood, had assembled; 
they were in possession of the fortress, and closed the gates. 
But the Cossacks had an understanding with the Greek Chris- 
tians in the town, and put on Polish uniforms in order to be 
taken for Poles. The Christian inhabitants urged the Jews 
to open the gates for their friends. They did so, and were 
suddenly attacked by the Cossacks and the inhabitants of the 
town, and almost entirely cut down amid frightful tortures 
(Siwan 20—June 10, 1648). ... 

Prince Vishnioviecki, the only heroic figure among the Poles 
at that time, a man of penetration, intrepid courage and 
strategic ability, defended the cause of the persecuted Jews 
with devoted zeal. He took the fugitives under the protecting 
wings of his small but brave force, with which he everywhere 
pursued the Cossack bands to destruction. But, because of 
his limited power, he could accomplish nothing of lasting im- 
port. Through petty jealousy, he was passed over at the elec- 
tion of the commander-in-chief against the Cossack insurrec- 
tion, and instead of him three were chosen, of a character 
calculated to help on Chmielnicki to further victories. 

Annoyed at the pitiful policy of the regent, the primate of 
Gnesen, Vishnioviecki followed his own course, but was com- 
pelled to retreat before the overpowering number of the roving 
troops and the Greek Catholic population in sympathy with 
them, and so destruction was brought on the Jews, who had 
reckoned on his heroic courage. In the fortress of Polonnoie, 
between Zaslav and Zytomir, 10,000 Jews, partly inhabitants, 
partly fugitives from the neighbourhood, are said to have 


HISTORY AND LEGEND 169 


perished at the hand of the besieging Haidamaks and the trai- 
torous inhabitants. (Ab 13—July 22.) (Graetz.) 


SABBATHAI ZEVI (1626-1676) AND HIS FOLLOWERS 


And it was spread throughout the world that Sabbathai Zevi 
was the holy Messiah, and Rabbi Nathan the prophet of the 
truth; and without sign or miracle nearly all Israel believed 
in them, and even those who were not among the circumcized 
—the Turks. . .. In Sh’vat our Master clothed himself in 
goid and royal raiment; and he went out of the house in 
the manner of a great emperor, having in one hand the Bible 
and in the other a royal sceptre; and there were about five 
hundred men following him, through the market-place and the 
main streets of the city of Smyrna, and they cried aloud, 
“Long live the King, our Master!” The Turks saw this, 
and heard the words, and said nothing, and ‘fell before him, 
and bowed themselves to the earth; and they did nothing to 
the Jews, neither to their persons nor to their possessions. 
Then the gift of prophecy came to many men and women, 
at Smyrna, and Constantinople, and Aleppo and other places, 
and they witnessed that Sabbathai was the Messiah of the 
God of Jacob. There came upon them a deep sleep, and they 
fell to earth and were like dead, so that there remained no 
breath in them; and then, a little while later, the breath came 
out of them, and their lips did not move, and they said: “Hear, 
O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Blessed be the 
name of the glory of His Kingdom for ever and ever... . 
Our King, Sabbathai Zevi, has been crowned with a crown; 
from heaven a great ban is pronounced against all those who 
do not believe in him... . His Kingdom is the Kingdom 
of the two worlds. . . . Blessed are those to whom it has been 
granted to live in his days. Sing, ye just, sing and praise 
God, for Heis good. . . . God is true, Moses is true, his Torah 
is true, and true is Sabbathai Zevi! .. .” 

And when these things were heard in Italy and, above all, 


170 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


in Venice, the greater part believed that God was remembering 
His people. And there was greater repentance in that city 
than it had ever seen before, and they sent a messenger to 
Constantinople to discover whether it were true that our de- 
liverance had come. And the reply came that Sabbathai Zevi 
was indeed the true Savior, and that those that did not believe 
in him were like those that did not believe in God. . . . And 
in those days the whole world, east, west, north, south, was 
divided, class by class, group by group, and the news of our 
deliverance ran everywhere, and some believed, and some de- 
nied and some doubted. . . . (Baruch Marizo, The Children 
of Israel in the Days of Mahmound IV, passim.) 


Chapter II 
RELIGIOUS THOUGHT—-EXEGESIS AND PHILOSOPHY 


1. The Struggle Between Reason and Tradition 
a. Rationalist Exegesis 
THE BIBLE AND REASON 


THE All-Wise purposed in this Book [the Pentateuch] to 
educate those beings which were gifted with reason and to 
fashion them for His service. Now there are three kinds of 
education, of which one is stronger than the others. The 
first, which is the weakest kind, consists in saying to the 
one to be educated: “Do this: do not do that,” without mak- 
ing him understand the consequences of the command or the 
prohibition, whether he obey or refuse to obey. The second 
kind consists in giving, together with the command or pro- 
hibition, the consequences of the path chosen. Thus: “Do 
this, and you will be rewarded: do not do that, or you will 
be punished.” This method is better than the former, for 
it awakens the idea of happiness or of misery resulting from 
the path of conduct chosen by the individual. The third kind 
of education, while it consists in giving command and pro- 
hibition, and in indicating the recompense or punishment that 
will follow, adds thereto the history of those people who have 
obeyed and were rewarded by salvation and of those people 
who disobeyed and were punished by misery. This method 
is more effective than the first two methods, for the reason 
that it adds as it were the test and experience to the commands, 
and, to point the lesson, adduces the value of personal testi- 
mony. And God has revealed, in this book which is dedicated 


to the education of His servants, the three methods which 
vg) 


172 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


we have described. He commands piety and prohibits sin; 
He announces the reward of good actions and the punishment 
of evil actions; and finally He gives the history of those 
who lived on earth before us,—the salvation of those who have 
been virtuous and the punishment of those who have been 
wicked. The divine Book therefore contains the three prin- 
cipal forms of education. . 

But know furthermore, you who read this, that, despite its 
inestimable worth, despite its high place, and despite the 
beauty of its language, which light up the darkness and the 
mystery of its contents, the servants of God would do wrong 
to believe that outside of this Book there is nothing which 
would compel men to believe in the Eternal. Indeed, they 
are in duty bound to know that other proofs exist—to the 
number of two. The first, which precedes the Holy Script, 
is the proof furnished by reason, whereby it is realized that 
all beings, visible and Invisible, have been created, that the 
Creator is eternal, having neither beginning nor end, that He 
is One, that He is unlike the created beings, and that these 
are unlike Him, that He is the All-Wise, who knows all things 
beforehand, the Creator who creates out of nothing whatso- 
ever He desires, the All-Just, who imposes on none of His 
servants a burden too heavy to carry. . . . The second proof, 
which comes after the Pentateuch, is the tradition which has 
been handed down to us by the Prophets, showing the decisions 
which they took in accordance with events and the manner in 
which they observed those commandments which are not im- 
posed upon us by reason alone, but which nevertheless can be 
imposed on man in conformity with the dictates of reason. 
(Saadia, Commentary on the Pentateuch, Preface.) 


SATAN AND THE ANGELS ASSIMILATED TO MANKIND 


“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to pre- 
sent themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also before 
Him.” [Job 1:6.] I have explained that phrase, “sons of 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 173 


God” as the friends or favourites of God, as in the following 
verses: “You are all children of the Eternal, your God,” 
“Tsrael is my beloved son. . . .” As for Satan, he is in reality 
a man, as in the passage: “The Eternal raised before Solomon 
a satan—an adversary. . . .” Similarly, it is said of Joshua, 
son of Josadak, “And the satan (adversary) stood on his right 
to oppose him. ...” (Saadia, Commentary on Job 1: 6.) 


THE MIRACLE OF JOSHUA 


“So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and hasted 
not to go down about a whole day.” [Joshua 10: 13.] Moses 
Ibn Gikatilla thinks that the movement of the spheres was 
not arrested, but only that the reverberations of the sun con- 
tinued to give light, that they might see clearly. One day I 
said to Ibn Gikatilla: “Are not the reverberations of the sun 
an effect of which the sun is the cause?” “Yes,” he answered. 
“If, then, the cause were to disappear, the effect would also 
disappear, of necessity.” He replied: ‘‘The miracle consisted 
precisely therein, that the light remained after the sun had 
set.” Then I asked him: ‘What compels you to believe this?” 
He answered: “I consider impossible the suspension of the 
movement of the spheres, which is eternal.” (Judah ibn 
Balaam, Commentary on the Book of Joshua.) 


AN EYE FOR AN EYE 


[Exodus 22:23.] According to the tradition of our 
teachers, this expression means the value of the eye, and not 
the eye itself. The proof thereof is found in a passage which 
precedes the one cited [Exodus 5: 19], according to which a 
man who wounds another bodily must pay for the time during 
which the wounded man is idle, and in addition the cost of 
the cure, and if the same wound is inflicted for punishment 
on the guilty man, how would he pay his victim, seeing he 
would himself be idle and would have to find payment for his 


174 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


own cure? Furthermore, if the Law had intended that the 
man who tore out another man’s eye should be punished in 
the same way, one would have to pause before the fact that 
some men are weaker than others, and perhaps the guilty 
man, being weaker, would die as a result of the punishment; 
but the Torah says: “An eye for an eye,” and not: “A life 
for an eye... .” And finally, it is impossible to inflict on 
the second man exactly the same wound as was suffered by 
the first, for the first wound was not measured exactly, as to 
its length, depth and width. If, then, the ruling were to be 
observed: “As he did, so shall it be done to him,” it would 
have to be the same, neither more nor less. . . . Reason, 
Scripture and tradition therefore teach us that the words “An 
eye for an eye” are not to be taken literally, but that what is 
meant is pecuniary reparation for the lost eye. (Chananel ben 
Shushiel, Commentary on the Pentateuch.) 


LITERARY EXEGESIS: BIBLICAL HYPERBOLE 


In the following passages in Holy Script there is hyperbole: 

[Isaiah srs 6.) tate up your eyes to the heavens and 
look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish 
away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, 
and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my 
salvation shall be for ever and my righteousness shall not be 
abolished.” Here the preposition for does not indicate either 
the moment of the action, or the proof, for all the philosophers 
are agreed that the celestial sphere, the sublime body, is im- 
perishable, and that it can neither age nor decay. 

[Job 29: 20.] “My glory was fresh in me, and my bow 
was renewed in my hand.” The teachers of Biblical exegesis 
have explained this passage in the following manner: ‘“How- 
ever often I shoot with my bow it remains for ever new”; but 
this explanation is the last resort of one who cannot find an- 
other. In reality, it is a hyperbolic expression of happiness. 
- + » (Moses ibn Ezra, On Poetry and Rhetoric.) 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 175 


HISTORICAL EXEGESIS: THE VISION OF DANIEL 


The first beast, which resembled a lion, was Nebuchadnez- 
zar; the “wings of the eagle which were torn out” are his 
two successors, Evil Merodach and Balthazzar. “A man’s 
heart was given him” because the heart of the lion is bigger 
than the heart of a man. The following is the sense: after 
their king had been killed, the Chaldeans became again like 
other men and ceased to ravage like lions. [7:5.] The sec- 
ond beast is the Persian empire, which destroyed the empire 
of the Chaldeans; it is this beast which, in the dream of 
Nebuchadnezzar [2:3], is compared to silver. “It raised 
itself up on one side and had three ribs in its mouth, between 
its teeth,” which signified that Cyrus and Darius destroyed 
three great cities on one side of the Chaldean empire [7: 6]. 
The third beast is the Greek empire, which began with the 
empire of Alexander, and continues in the Roman empire, 
which endures till this day. In the dream of Nebuchadnezzar 
the Roman empire is compared to copper, and it is said of 
it that “it stretches over the whole earth.” The four wings 
are the four kings who, as is known, divided the empire of 
Alexander [7:7]. The fourth beast in the vision is the 
Arab empire, which, in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, is com- 
pared to iron; here, too, it is said that this beast has teeth of 
iron. The ten horns signify that the Arab empire will stretch 
over the greater part of the known world. These ten horns 
are: the kingdoms of Khorasan, Ispahan, Yemen (Sheba), 
Mecca, Egypt, Africa, the kingdom of the Arabs who live in 
tents in the east and west, the kingdoms of the Philistines 
(which means the Almoravides), the Berbers, who are the sons 
of Ham, with white skins, and the Kushites (negroes) who 
have seven kings [7:8]. As for the little horn, it signifies 
something which is yet to come, for it will not appear until 
the coming of the Redeemer. (Abraham ibn Ezra, Commen- 
tary on Daniel, 4 et seq.) 


176 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


COMMON-SENSE EXEGESIS 


“God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this.” [Psalms 
42: 11.] “A verse from the Bible can have manifold con- 
tent” [Sanhedrin, 341], but “there is not a single verse which 
can be forced into a meaning which is not simple and natural.” 
[Skabbat, 630.] Although the prophets make use of im- 
agery, even their figurative sayings must be explained in ac- 
cordance with the meaning of the context and with due /re- 
gard to the order of the verses. As for the Song of Songs, I 
have seen various Haggadic interpretations; some of them 
cover the book as a whole, and the work verse by verse; and 
others cover particular passages, and are not in agreement 
with themselves nor with the text taken in the order of the 
verses. I propose to hold to the simple sense of Scripture, 
and to explain the text in connection with the verses, but 
quoting, in the proper places, the Midrashic interpretations 
which have been handed down by our teachers. (Rashi, Jn- 
troduction to the Song of Songs.) 


b. Jewish Neo-Platonism 
ALLEGORIC EXEGESIS 


(1) Paradise. 

Eden [Genesis 2: 8] signifies the upper world, and the 
garden the world of visible forms, which is filled with a mul- 
titude of individual beings, as the garden is filled with plants. 
The river which goes out of Eden is like the mother of all 
material beings (universal matter). The four rivers which 
divide from it are the four elements. Adam, Eve and the 
serpent are the three souls: Adam, who “gave names” [2: 20] 
is the rational soul, which gives names to things (which cre- 
ates language); Eve is the animal (the vital) soul; the serpent 
is the vegetative soul. The Tree of Knowledge signifies the 
faculty of reproduction, which is in the garden, that is, in 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 177 


the visible world. When it is said of the serpent that it ate 
the dust, it refers to the vegetative soul, which is rooted in 
matter. The aprons of skin signify the body. Adam driven 
from Paradise to cultivate the earth, signifies the latter end 
of man (Adam, the rational soul, must compel himself to leave 
the darkness of the earthly life from which he has been ban- 
ished, to return to Eden, which is the upper world). The 
Tree of Life, which gives immortality, is the knowledge of the 
knowable world. (Solomon ibn Gabirol, quoted in the Com- 
mentary on Genesis of Abraham ibn Ezra.) 


(2) The Dream of Jacob. 

The ladder which stands on the earth and the upper end 
of which reaches to the sky [Genesis 28] is the rational soul; 
the angels which go up and down are thoughts, which take 
as their objects now spiritual and now material things. (Jbid.) 


HOW TO OBTAIN KNOWLEDGE 


Since our aim is knowledge, which goes from the lowest 
extremity of a being to its highest extremity, and since all 
which is at the lowest extremity is derived from the highest 
extremity, there all that which we find at the lowest extremity 
must be used for comparison with that which is found at the 
highest extremity, the lower image being a reproduction of 
the higher image from which it emanates. . . . After under- 
standing the similarity of the two extremities, arrive, by a 
study of the visible, at the knowledge of the invisible. (Solo- 
mon ibn Gabirol, The Fount of Life, II, 12.) 


THE CREATIVE WILL 


The Will, putting into motion the spiritual substances, as 
well as the material substances which are affected by these, 
may be compared to the Will of the soul, which puts into 
motion the body or one of its organs, such as the heart, when 
the soul judges that this organ should be moved. [Jbdid., V, 


178 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


59.] . . . Matter and form are like body and air, or like soul 
and light; the Will is joined to these, and holds them together 
and interpenetrates them as the soul does the body, as the 
light does the air or as the intelligence does the soul. [ Tbid., 
61.] . . . This is why it is said that the All-Highest Creator 
is found in everything; for the Will, which is His faculty, is 
communicated to each thing and enters each thing, and no 
thing is void of it, for it is by virtue of it that all things 
exist and are. [Jbid., 63.] 

The creation of things by the All-Highest Creator, I mean 
the manner in which form issues from the first source, which 
is the Will, and is poured into matter, may be compared to 
the manner in which water issues from a spring and gradually 
spreads over the things near it; except that the Will proceeds 
without interruption, without stop, without movement, and 
without time. [Jdid., 64.] ... It may again be compared 
to the word spoken by man; for when a man utters a word, 
its form and its meaning are impressed on the ear and the 
intelligence of the hearer. And thus one may say, in a manner 
of speaking, that the All-Highest Creator has uttered a word 
which has impressed itself on the essence of matter and has 
there been retained; that is to say, the created form has been 
impressed into matter. (Jdid., Pi.) 


THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 


When you have a full knowledge of this, your soul will be 
purified and your mind will become clear, and will piece into 
the world of thought, and your look will envisage the universal- 
ity of matter and form. And matter, with all the forms which 
it possesses, will be like a book open before you; you will 
look upon the signs written therein, you will examine by means 
of your thought the figures thereof, and then you may hope 
to know what there is behind it. And the aim of all this will 
be to know the world of the Divinity, which is altogether im- 
mense, whereas everything which is here below is extremely 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 179 


small. A double path leads to this sublime knowledge: first, 
by knowledge of the Will which surrounds matter and form, 
that is to say, by that superior faculty which is free from all 
admixture of matter and form; but in order to arrive at a 
knowledge of this faculty which is utterly distinct from matter 
and form, one must first make use of the faculty which is 
clothed in matter and form (universal intelligence and simple 
substances in general) and rise by means of this faculty by 
degrees, until one comes to its source and origin. The fruit 
of this labour is escape from death and the finding of the 
fountain of life. If you would ask me by the help of what 
things one may realize this sublime hope, then I tell you that 
you must sunder yourself from tangible things, submerge 
yourself in things of the mind, and attach yourself to that 
which gives happiness; for if you do this, He will turn His 
look upon you, and will give you happiness, for He is the 
source of benevolence. May He be praised and exalted. 
Amen! (Jbid., 73-74.) 


c. The Traditionalist Reaction 
THE CALL TO TRADITION 


THE TEACHER: We believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac 
and Jacob, who brought forth the Hebrews from Egypt with 
songs, miracles and trials, fed them in the desert, gave them 
as a possession the land of Canaan, after he had made them 
cross the Red Sea and the Jordan in the midst of great won- 
ders; He sent Moses with the Law, and after him, thousands 
of Prophets, who exhorted us to observe this Law, promising 
good recompense to those who would observe it and bitter pun- 
ishment to those who would refuse to observe it. And we 
believe everything that is written in the Torah... . 

Kusari: Should you not have said, Jew, that you believe 
in the Creator of the world, in Him who commands it and 
guides it, and whe has created you and provided for you: 


180 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


and then repeated what each one says who has a religion, and 
who, through his religion, aspires to truth and justice, in order 
that he may become like the Creator in wisdom and justice? 

THE TEACHER: The thing whereof you speak is speculative 
religion, which is reached by means of reasoning, and which 
contains more than one doubt. Interrogate the philosophers 
concerning it, and you will find that not on a single point of 
behaviour and not on a single opinion, are they in agreement. 
For, among their statements, there are some which can be 
proved, and there are some which can be just sufficiently made 
clear to keep our mind at rest, while there are some regarding 
which, far from furnishing a proof, they cannot even give us 
this minimum guarantee. 

Kusari: I find, Jew, that your discourse is good from the 
opening on, and I would continue the discussion with you. 

THE TEACHER: If you were told that the king of India is 
a man full of love, who merits high praise, who has deserved 
that his name be honoured and his deeds recounted—and if 
you were to judge from the integrity of the inhabitants of 
his country, from their good conduct and their loyalty to their 
king—would you not feel compelled to accept and approve this 
opinion? 

Kusari: Why should I be compelled? I would still harbour 
this doubt: Is the integrity of the inhabitants native to them, 
without the King being responsible for it, or does it spring 
from the influence of the King, or from both of these causes? 

TEACHER: But if he also sent you certain messengers, with 
presents from India, such as you know, beyond all doubt, 
could be found nowhere but in India, in the royal palace— 
and if these messengers were to bring you an unchallenged | 
document, coming from the king himself, and together with 
these medicaments which cure you of your ills and yet are 
mortal poison to your enemies and adversaries, so that by use 
of these, you may go forth and overcome them without arms 
—if this should happen, would you not feel compelled to listen 
to this king and to acknowledge his empire? 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 18] 


Kusari: Surely, for then my first doubt will have van- 
ished. .': . 

TEACHER: And if you were to be questioned concerning this, 
by what means would you answer? 

Kusari: I should use those signs and characters which had 
first been proven to me, and to these I would add such char- 
acters as at first had seemed doubtful to me but concerning 
which I had later become certain. 

TEACHER: And these were exactly the means I used in an- 
swering your question, and it was thus also that Moses an- 
swered Pharaoh, when he said to him, “The God of the He- 
brews has sent me unto thee,” that is to say, the God of 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. As for these patriarchs, it is well 
known among all peoples that God conversed with them, and 
guided them and showed wonders for them. But Moses did 
not say, “The God of heaven and earth has sent me,’ nor yet, 
“The God who has created us all, thee and’me.”’ And God 
Himself, when He spoke to all the Children of Israel, began 
with these words, “I am the Lord thy God who brought thee 
forth from the land of Egypt,” and not, “I am thy Creator 
and the Creator of the world.”’ And thus, when you asked 
me what my faith was, I told you that which I could not but 
believe, even as the whole congregation of Israel is convinced 
of the veracity of this revelation, first through the testimony 
of its own experience, and then through the chain of unbroken 
tradition which is equivalent to personal experience. (Judah 
Halevi, Kusari, I.) 


THE CALL TO JOY 


Kusari: It might have been expected that there would be 
found among your people a larger proportion of hermits and 
ascetics than among other peoples. 

TEACHER: I am sorry to see you forgetting so soon those 
principles which I first established and which you had already 
conceded. Have we not agreed that it is impossible to ap- 


182 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


proach God except through those acts which He Himself com- 
mands us to observe? .. . Divine religion by no means im- 
poses asceticism on us, but leads us by the middle road, grant- 
ing to each bodily faculty, even as to the soul, liberty without 
excess; for in excess, too much given to the one means so 
much taken from the other. . . . A long fast is not commend- 
able for a man who does not eat well, who is weak and whose 
body is already lean; he would do better to take care of his 
body. Similarly, the acquisition of riches is not prohibited to 
such as can acquire them without extraordinary effort, and 
without being deflected by the pursuit from the knowledge and 
practice of good: the more so if he has a large family and is 
prepared to expend his wealth in good works. . . . In a gen- 
eral way, our Law affords equal place for veneration, love 
and joy. The offering of your days of fast is not more gratify- 
ing to God than the joy of your feast days and Sabbaths, if 
that joy be sincere and fervent. Joy, when it accompanies 
the practice of the law, is equivalent to prayer. Love the 
commandment for the love of Him who commands, and know 
what blessings He gives in commanding you. It is as if you 
were His guest, invited to His table, and as if you thanked 
Him with heart and tongue for all His goodness. ... And 
if your joy is exalted into dance and song, that too is service 
of God and closeness to the spirit of the Lord. (Kusari, II.) 


2. The Culminating Point of Rationalism 
FREEDOM. 


Just as God created all things each with certain qualities, 
man, for example, with the faculty of speech, and as He created 
things incapable of certain qualities (as the stone is forever 
wordless)—in the same way He has created certain things 
which He endowed only with the possibility of acquiring cer- 
tain qualities; but it does not thereby follow at all that the 
Divine Knowledge is in any way diminished. For there are 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 183 


two lines of possibilities. Thus: we who are in Spain, a long 
distance from Babylon, we do not know whether to-day the 
King of Babylon is alive or dead: the parallel holds for both 
cases, although objectively the one excludes the other; here 
God knows exactly which of the two possibilities are realized, 
just as He knows with certainty whether or not there will be 
an eclipse of the moon this month. The first type of possibil- 
ity, which reposes on ignorance, is not applicable to God. But 
as to the second type of possibility, which is only such because 
God has made a certain object indeterminate, and has created 
it in such wise that it may equally acquire one of two opposed 
qualities—in this case we can attribute to God an indetermi- 
nate knowledge of the possibility which will be realized. And 
if some obstinate person should insist, saying: ‘“‘What? God 
does not know everything which will happen to a man in the 
future?” we would reply: “This does not come under the head- 
ing of ignorance.” For if it were affirmed that all events 
depend, like the eclipses of the moon, on laws of nature, and 
are either inevitable or impossible, and if it were affirmed that 
God has left no latitude with regard to that which decides 
the being or the not-being of each phenomenon—and if this 
contention were so, then the world would be ruined, society 
destroyed and even eternal life without hope. In vain would 
man labour, build houses, plant trees, tame the wild beasts, 
forge sword and lance for combat—for everything would be 
predetermined; and in vain would he be pious, since either 
his piety or his impiety would have been determined in ad- 
vance—all of which is in obvious contradiction to the truth. 
God of set purpose created the possible, as possible, and He 
knows with absolute precision the subjectively possible which 
is objectively inevitable. For there are things that happen to 
man which are not always desired of God, but there are certain 
events which make clear the Divine intent, for God knows 
the conduct of each man, and either gives or takes away 
according to his merit; and there are other events which do 
not manifest the Divine intent, for they follow from natural 


184 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


causes, and are either harmful or beneficent according to 
whether the man put nature to a wrong or right use. (Abra- 
ham Ibn Daud, The Sublime Faith, 2nd Treatise, Princ. 6, 
on 2.) 


THE GUIDE TO THE PERPLEXED 


The object of this treatise is to enlighten a religious man 
who has been trained to believe in the truth of our Holy Law, 
who conscientiously fulfils his religious and moral duties, and 
at the same time has been successful in his philosophic studies. 
Human reason has attracted him to abide within its sphere; 
and he finds it difficult to accept as correct the teaching based 
on the literal interpretation of the Law. . . . Hence he is lost 
in perplexity and anxiety. If he be guided solely by reason, 
and renounce his previous views . . . he would consider that 
he had rejected the fundamental principles of the Law; and 
even if he retains the opinions . . . and if, instead of follow- 
ing his reason, he abandons its guidance altogether, it would 
still appear that his religious convictions had suffered loss and 
INjUTY. 32 Mex 

This work has also a second object in view. It seeks to 
explain certain obscure figures which occur in the Prophets, 
and are not distinctly characterized as being figures. Ignorant 
and superficial readers take them in a literal, not in a figura- 
tive sense. Even well-informed persons are bewildered if they 
understand these passages in their literal significance, but they 
are entirely relieved of their perplexity when we explain the 
figure, or merely explain that the terms are figurative. For 
this reason I have called this book The Guide to the Perplexed. 
(Maimonides, Guide to the Perplexed, Introduction.) 


THE CREATIO EX NIHILO 


The fact that a certain proposition has been proved by a 
dialectical argument will never induce me to accept that prop- 


—- 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 185 


osition, but, on the contrary, will weaken my faith in it, and 
cause me to doubt it. For when we understand the fallacy 
of a proof, our faith in the proposition itself is shaken. It 
is therefore better that a proposition which cannot be demon- 
strated should be received as an axiom, or that one of the 
two opposite solutions of the problem be accepted on author- 
ity. .. . As for the proof of Aristotle and his followers for 
the eternity of the universe, they are, according to my opinion, 
not conclusive; they are open to strong objections, as will be 
explained. I intend to show that the theory of creation, as 
taught in Scripture, contains nothing that is not possible; and 
that all these philosophic arguments which seem to disprove 
our view contain weak points which make them inconclusive, 
and render the attacks on our view untenable. Since I am 
convinced of the correctness of my method, and consider either 
of the two theories—viz., the Eternity of the Universe and 
the Creation—as inadmissible, I accept the latter on the 
authority of Prophecy, which can teach things beyond the 
reach of philosophical speculation. . . . When I have estab- 
lished the admissibility of our theory, I will, by philosophical 
reasoning, show that our theory of the Creation is more ac- 
ceptable than that of the Eternity of the Universe; and al- 
though our theory includes points open to criticism, I will 
show that there are much stronger reasons for the rejection 
of the theory of our opponents. (J/bid., II, Ch. XVI.) 


OF PROPHECY 


Every man possesses a certain amount of courage, other- 
wise he would not stir to remove anything that might injure 
him. This psychical force seems to me analogous to the 
physical force of repulsion. Energy varies like all other 
forces, being great in one case and small in another. There 
are, therefore, people who attack a lion, whilst others run 
away at the sight of a mouse. One attacks a whole army 
and fights, another is frightened and terrified by the threat 


186 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


of a woman. . .. From our youth we remember that there 
are different degrees of energy among boys. 

The same is the case with the intuitive faculty; all possess 
it, but in different degrees. Man’s intuitive power is espe- 
cially strong in things which he has well comprehended, and 
in which his mind is much engaged. Thus you may yourself 
guess correctly that a certain person said or did a certain 
thing in a certain matter. Some persons are so strong and 
sound in their imagination and intuitive faculty that, when 
they assume a thing to be in existence, the reality either en- 
tirely or partly confirms their assumption. Although the 
causes of the assumption are numerous, and include many 
preceding, succeeding and present circumstances, by means of 
the intuitive faculty the intellect can pass over all these causes, 
and draw inferences from them very quickly, almost instanta- 
neously. The same faculty enables some person to foretell 
important coming events. 

The prophets must have had these two forces, courage and 
intuition, highly developed, and these were still more strength- 
ened when they were under the influence of the Active In- 
tellect. Their courage was so great, that, e.g., Moses, with 
only a staff in his hand, dared address a great king in his 
desire to deliver a nation from his service. He was not fright- 
ened or terrified, because he had been told, “I will be with 
thee” [Exodus, III, 12]. The prophets have not all the same 
degree of courage, but none of them have been entirely with- 
out it. Thus Jeremiah is told, “Be not afraid of them,” etc. 
[Jer. 1:8], and Ezekiel is exhorted, “Do not fear them or 
their word. . . .” 

The true prophets undoubtedly conceive ideas that result 
from premises which human reason could not comprehend by 
itself; thus they tell things which men could not tell by reason 
and ordinary imagination alone; for [the action of the 
prophet’s mental capacities is influenced by] the same agent 
that causes the perfection of the imaginative faculty, and that 
enables the prophet thereby to foretell a future event with 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 187 


such clearness as if it were a thing already perceived with 
the sensés and only through them conveyed to his imagination. 
This agent perfects the prophet’s mind, and influences it in 
such a manner that he conceives ideas which are confirmed by 
reality, and are as clear to him as if he decided them by means 
of syllogisms. .. . 

This is the true characteristic of prophecy, and of the dis- 
ciplines to which the preparation for prophecy must exclu- 
sively be devoted. I spoke here of true prophets in order 
to exclude the third class, namely, those persons whose logical 
faculties are not fully developed, and who do not possess any 
wisdom, but are only endowed with imaginative and inventive 
powers. It may be that things perceived by these persons are 
nothing but ideas which they had before, and of which impres- 
sions were left in their imaginations together with those of 
other things; but whilst the impression of other images are 
effaced and have disappeared, certain images alone remain, 
are seen and considered as new and objective, coming from 
without. . . . There were therefore men who supported their 
opinion by a dream which they had, thinking that the vision 
during sleep was independent of what they had previously 
believed or heard when awake. Persons whose mental capaci- 
ties are not fully developed, and who have not attained in- 
tellectual perfection must not take any notice of these dreams. 
Those who reach that perfection may, through the influence 
of the divine intellect, obtain knowledge independent of that 
possessed by them when awake. ‘They are true prophets, as 
is distinctly stated in the Scripture: “And the true prophet 
possesses a heart of wisdom.” (Jbid., II, Ch. XX XVIII.) 


OF THE WORLD TO COME 


The greatest number dream of a time to come when the 
Messiah will appear, when the dead will awaken, when all 
will have a portion in the joys of Paradise, will eat and drink 
and be well eternally. But it is surprising that very few 


188 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


indeed attempt to conceive the thing logically, in its essence, 
to think deeply on the nature of true felicity as an ultimate 
ideal and to examine whether any of the rewards spoken of 
truly constitute the sovereign good. . . . Consider, you who 
read this, the following comparison, and you will understand 
my thought regarding this subject. Imagine a young boy who 
is brought before the teacher who is to instruct him. The 
desire to perfect the boy is obviously based on the desire to 
make him capable of partaking of the greatest good. But 
the boy is too tender in years and too weak of understanding 
to appreciate the good which is intended for him and the 
advantages which he will reap from his progress. As the 
teacher is wiser than the boy, he will encourage his pupil to 
study by the offer of such things as appear to the child de- 
sirable and of worth. He will say: “Read, and you shall have 
nuts and figs and honey.” And the little one reads with zest, 
not because he finds pleasure in the book or understands that 
there is a benefit to be derived from reading, but because he 
wants the sweets which have been promised him, and which 
mean more to him than all study. . . . When he has become 
a little older those first objects of his desire will appear to 
him insignificant and contemptible; and if he is to be urged 
to further effort, he must be offered greater reward, and the 
teacher will say: “Read, and you shall have splendid shoes 
and magnificent raiment.” The prize is tempting and the 
boy works hard. Later the prize is again raised; he is prom- 
ised, for every portion he learns, a certain sum of moOney.cantee 
At last, when he is grown up, these rewards tempt him no 
longer and the rabbi exhorts him, saying: “Learn: you will 
become president, judge, and people will bow before you.” 
And then the young man learns, holding in view the honour 
and glory which men will bestow on him. All of this is ugly, 
but it is necessary because the human spirit is narrow and, 
while acquiring wisdom, envisages other ends. This is what 
our sages call “learning good or doing good without sincerity,” 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 189 


and they warn us against it, saying: “Make not of thy learn- 
ing either a crown to adorn thee nor a spade to bury thee.” 
The aim of search for the truth is truth itself, and the Torah 
is truth; the aim of the knowledge of the commandments is to 
practise them. . . . If, therefore, we seek nothing more than 
this in the pursuit of knowledge, we should also seek nothing 
more when we serve God and practise His commandments, 
and this is what Antigonos of Socho affirmed in saying: “Be 
not like servants who minister to their master for the sake of 
payment, but be like those who minister without expecting 
any reward.” This, too, is what is called “serving for love,” 
and our sages say with the Psalmist: “Blessed is the man who 
glorifies God and takes pleasure in His commandments 
[Avoda Zara, 19a] and not in the reward which he might 
expect.” And this has been expressed even more clearly in 
the Talmudic Treatise Nedarim [62a]: ‘Perhaps thou think- 
est, I will learn the Torah, in order that I may become rich, 
that I may become a rabbi, that I may be rewarded in the 
world to come; but it is written in the Scripture, in order to 
love the Lord, all that thou dost should be done only for love 
of Him. .. .” But as in the beginning even the intelligent 
man finds it somewhat difficult to make himself familiar with 
this thought—for as men we are accustomed to act or to 
refrain from action according to the good or the harm which 
might result—for this reason the sages of old permitted the 
people to imagine that material reward and punishment were 
attached to their obedience or their disobedience, in order that 
they might accept the faith and observe the commandments. 
. . . He loses nothing in believing this and in modelling his 
conduct on the expectation of reward and punishment until, 
by habituation and zeal, he arrives at an understanding of 
the truth and of service for love. Our sages of old said: 
“Give yourself to the Torah, even if not for its own sake, and 
in the end you will give yourself to it for its own sake.” 
Maimonides, Commentary on the Mishna, X, 1.) 


190 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


THE MESSIAH 


Let it not enter your mind that the Messiah will perform 
miracles, or create new things, or resurrect the dead, as the 
stupid relate; we must await nothing of this kind. Rabbi 
Akiba, one of our greatest scholars in the Mishna, was equerry 
to Bar Kozba; he, and the scholars of his time, took him to 
be the Messiah until the day he was killed (for his sins) and 
only then did they know that he was not the Messiah. These 
sages asked of him neither signs nor miracles. But an im: 
portant principle is that our Torah, and its precepts and com- 
mandments, are eternal; nothing can be added and nothing 
taken away; whosoever does this, or whosoever brings a dif- 
ferent sense into the Torah, or interprets it so as to change 
it, should be treated as an impostor, a criminal and a despiser 
of the Law. If therefore there should arise a king of the race 
of David, who will turn his Spirit toward the Torah, and, 
like his forefather, David, will practise both the written and 
the oral commandments of the Law, and if he shall cause all 
Israel to live according to the Law and to strengthen it; and 
if his labour prospers, and if he conquers the surrounding 
peoples, rebuilds the Temple and reassembles the scattered 
remnants of Israel, then there will be no doubt: it will be 
the true Messiah. But if fortune does not attend his labours, 
if he falls in combat, then it was not he whom the promises 
announced: he is only like the other pious kings of the House 
of David who have been defeated, and God will have sent 
him to be a trial to great numbers of men, as it is said: “And 
some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to 
purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end.” 
[Daniel 11:35.] As for the man who shall give himself out 
as the Anointed, and who, in consequence, shall suffer the 
just punishment of death—what greater error could there have 
been? All the prophets had proclaimed that the Messiah 
would redeem the children of Israel and would deliver them 
from their sufferings, that he would reassemble the dispersed 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 191 


and would strengthen them in the observance of the command- 
ments, while this man brought it about that Israel, as a nation, 
should be destroyed by the sword, should be scattered and 
humiliated; he introduced changes into the Law, and brought 
the world to err in adoring something outside of the true God. 
Nevertheless, no human mind can apprehend the designs of 
the Creator, for His ways are not our ways; so that this man, 
like the founders of all other later religions, has served to 
make smooth the way for the true Messiah, who shall bring 
all the peoples of the world to the one service of God, as it 
is said: “For then will I turn to the people a pure language, 
that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve 
him with one consent.” [Zephaniah 3: 97.] Thanks to these 
new religions, the world has been filled with the idea of a 
Messiah-Redeemer, and with the words of the Law and the 
commandments; these words have now been spread to the 
furthest islands, and to numerous peoples which are barbar- 
ous; all of them to-day study the words of the Torah and 
are exercised by the question of its validity; some assert that 
the Commandments of the Torah are true, but have now been 
abrogated; others give them a secret meaning, and say that 
their contents have already been realized; but when the true 
Messiah will come, all will be converted and will recognize 
their errors. (Maimonides, The Strong Hand, Book XIV, 
Ch. VI.) | 


3. The Religious and Mystic Reaction 
FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE 


Whoever has as a foundation the tradition or prophetic in- 
spiration, him nothing in the world can shake, for knowledge 
is much inferior to prophecy, which is a principle recognized 
by all positive religions—and all the more so by ours, which 
is the true religion. We believe all the traditions, as we be- 
lieve in the miracles which were wrought for the benefit of 


192 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


the patriarchs, the crossing of the Red Sea, the standing still 
of the sun for Joshua. These are obviously things denied by 
the philosophers who ignore Moses and the prophets as worth- 
less; but we have nothing to do with people who reject tradi- 
tion as a matter of principle; let those follow them who hold 
it to be a proved thing that whatsoever seems contrary to 
nature is impossible, as if there were not truths beyond those 
which they are capable of apprehending. What is utterly in- 
conceivable to me, is that these enemies of the faith should, 
by their own confession, be unable to explain certain phenom- 
ena, and should be incapable of knowing the essence of na- 
ture. Thus, it is impossible to tell why the magnet attracts 
iron; if Aristotle had been told of this phenomenon, without 
his having direct personal knowledge of it, he would have 
considered it impossible. But having personal experience of 
it, he sought to reason about it and to offer philosophic ex- 
planations. And well did David rebuke people of this kind 
when he said, in the ninth Psalm: “It is the testimony of God 
which maketh wise the foolish.” In other words: before the 
miracles which are performed in their sight (and among these 
must be counted the crossing of the Red Sea and the revela- 
tion on Sinai), their understanding, which doubted and wan- 
dered, recognized that there is an omnipotent God, Lord of 
the nature which he preserves, moves and modifies without 
pause. (Response of Solomon ben Adreth, No. 9.) 


MYSTICAL EXEGESIS 


Oh, how perplexed is the spirit of the man who does not 
understand the true sense of the words of Scripture, though 
every day their meaning is uttered with a sweet voice... . 
This thing may be compared to a beautiful maiden imprisoned 
in a palace. This maiden has a lover, but no one knows of 
his love except the maiden herself. And as the lover, urged 
on by the desire to see his beloved, passes often by the palace, 
throwing his glances in all directions, to obtain sight of her, 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 193 


the maiden resolves to make a small opening in the wall that 
imprisons her; and as her lover passes, she hastily looks out 
of the opening, and then draws back again. But of all those 
persons who were passing by the palace at the same time as 
the lover, no one saw the face of the lovely maiden. Only 
the lover saw, because he was the only one whose eyes and 
heart and soul were drawn toward her. It is even thus with 
the Scripture, which does not reveal its mystery except to its 
lovers. But to the initiate, whose eyes and heart and soul 
are drawn toward the beloved, she will for a brief moment 
deign to show herself. . . . The Holy Scripture proceeds thus 
with a man: first she signals him to approach. If the man 
does not understand, she calls him “fool,” as it is written: 
“Whosoever is a fool, let him come to me. .. .””. When the 
man comes near, she speaks to him through the veil which 
still separates them. The man begins to understand little 
by little. He is then at the stage of syllogistic interpretation. 
She then begins to speak to him through a transparent veil. 
The man is then at the stage of symbolic interpretation. And 
finally, when habit has made him familiar with Scripture, she 
shows herself and speaks with him face to face, revealing the 
mysteries which she has hidden from the beginning of time. 
Then Scripture says to the man: “Thou seest now that in the 
same words which before contained a literal meaning, there 
is now a mystic meaning”; and just as, for the literal mean- 
ing, all the words must be there, without addition or curtail- 
ment, in the same way, for the mystical meaning, all the words 
must be there, without the addition of a single letter. And 
for this reason it is proper for men to give themselves zeal- 
ously to the study of the Scripture, and to become its lovers. 
(Zohar, II, 99a.) 


THE AIM OF THE KABALLAH 


The book Zohar reflects the light of the supreme Mother 
(the divine splendour), the source of penitence. The Jews who 


194, THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


will study this book will taste of the Tree of Life and will 
not longer have to be tried. It is through the book Zohar 
that Israel will be mercifully redeemed from the exile; and 
the words of the Scripture will be fulfilled: “And the Lord 
will lead him and there will not be with him a strange god.” 
When this comes to pass Israel will no longer be under the 
shadow of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil; he will 
no longer be subject to the law which prescribes what is per- 
mitted and what is forbidden, what is pure and what is im- 
pure; for in that time to come we shall draw our nature from 
the Tree of Life, and there will no longer be either questions 
which come from the side of evil, or disputes which arise 
from the side of impurity, as it is written: “I shall make the 
impure spirit to cease on earth.” “J bid., III, 124b.) 


GOD AND HIS EMANATIONS 


Before He had created any form in the world, before He 
had brought forth any image, He was alone, formless, re- 
sembling nothing. And who shall conceive Him as He was 
then, before the creation—since He had no form? And it is 
also forbidden to represent Him by any image or by any form 
whatsoever, even by His Holy Name, even by a letter or by 
a dot. This is the meaning of these words: “Ye saw no 
image on that day when the Lord spoke with you,” meaning, 
they saw nothing which they could represent by a form or 
image. But after He had produced the divine form of Man, 
He made use of it as of a chariot, Merchava, to descend to 
earth; He desired to be called by this form, which is the 
sacred Name of Jehovah; He desired to make Himself known 
by His attributes, by each attribute Separately, and called 
Himself the God of Mercy, the God of Justice, the Omnipotent 
God, the God of Hosts, and He that is. His object therein 
was to make men understand what are His qualities, and 
how justice and mercy extend over the whole world, as well 
aS over the works of men. F or, if He had not spread His 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 195 


light over all His creatures, how could we have known Him? 
How would it have been possible to say that the universe is 
filled with His glory? Woe to Him that even dares to com- 
pare Him to one of His own attributes! Still less should 
He be likened to man, who comes from earth and is destined 
to die. He is to be conceived as beyond all His created things, 
and beyond all His attributes. Then, when these things have 
been taken away, and there remain neither attribute, nor 
image, nor figure, that which does remain is like a sea; for 
the waters of the sea are themselves without end and without 
form; but when they spread over the earth, they produce an 
image, and this permits us to make a reckoning: the sources 
of the waters of the sea and the stream which issues there- 
from to spread over the earth are two. Then there is formed 
a huge basin, as when one scoops out a vast deep; this basin 
is filled with the waters which went out from the source; it 
is the sea itself, and should be counted as the third. At 
present this immense depth is divided into seven channels, 
which are like long vessels whereby the waters of the sea are 
carried off. The source, the stream, the sea and the seven 
channels together make the number ten. And if the worker 
who wrought these vessels breaks them, the waters will return 
to their source, and there will remain only the fragments of 
the vessels, void of water. It is thus that the cause of causes 
brought forth the ten Sephiroth. The Crown, that is the source 
whence bursts an infinite light, and it is thence that the name 
of the Eternal, Aim Soph, is drawn, to indicate the supreme 
cause; for it possesses, in this state, neither form nor figure; 
there can be found there no means of apprehending it, no 
means of understanding it. This is the intent of the saying: 
“Meditate not on a thing which is too high for thee.” Then 
there is formed a vessel which is as compact as a point, but 
into which, nevertheless, the divine light penetrates: this is 
the source of wisdom, it is wisdom itself, by virtue of which 
the Supreme Cause names itself the All-Knowing God. After- 
wards, it creates a vessel which is as mighty as the sea, which 


196 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


is called understanding. Thence comes the name of God, the 
God of Understanding. But we must know, nevertheless, that 
God is All-Knowing and All-Understanding only by His own 
nature: for wisdom merits not this name for itself, but for 
Him Who is Wise, and brings forth wisdom from the light 
which emanates from Him; nor shall understanding be con- 
ceived as being of itself, but only through the Intelligent Be- 
ing which has filled it with its own substance. Let Him only 
withdraw, and it becomes utterly arid. It is thus that the 
words must be understood: “The waters withdrew from the 
sea, and the bed of the river became arid and dry.” F inally, 
the sea is divided into seven parts, and there are the seven 
vessels which are called mercy or greatness, justice or 
strength, beauty, triumph, glory, royalty, and the foundation 
or basis. It is for this reason that He is named the Great 
or the Merciful, the Strong, the Magnificent, the God of 
Victories, the Creator to whom all glory belongs and the 
foundation of all things. It is this last attribute which sus- 
tains all the others, as well as the sum of the worlds. F inally, 
He is also the King of the Universe; for everything is within 
His power, whether He desire to make fewer the number of 
vessels, and to augment the light which burst forth from them, 
or whether the contrary be His wish. (Zohar, II, 42-43, 
quoted by A. Franck in his Kaballah.) 


THE ALPHABET AND THE CREATION 


When God was about to create the world by His word, the 
twenty-two letters of the alphabet descended from His terrible 
and august crown whereon they were engraved with a pen 
of flaming fire. They stood round about God, and one after 
the other spoke and entreated, “Create the world through 
me!” The first to step forward was the letter Taw. It said: 
“O Lord of the world! May it be Thy will to create the 
world through me, seeing that it is through me that Thou 
wilt give the Torah to Israel by the hand of Moses, as it is 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 197 


written, ‘Moses commanded us to keep the Torah.’” The 
Holy One, blessed be He, made answer and said, “No!” 
Taw asked, “Why not?” and God answered: “Because in 
days to come I shall place thee as a sign of death upon the 
foreheads of men.” As soon as Taw heard these words issue 
from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, it retired 
from His presence disappointed. 

The Shin then stepped forward, and pleaded: “O Lord of 
the world, create Thy world through me, seeing that Thine 
own name Shaddai begins with me.”’ Unfortunately it is also 
the first letter of Shaw, lie, and of Sheker, falsehood, and that 
incapacitated it. Resh had no better luck. It was pointed 
out that it was the initial letter of Ra, wicked, and Rasha, 
evil, and after that the distinction it enjoys of being the first 
letter in the name of God, Rahum, the Merciful, counted for 
naught. The Kof was rejected because Kelalah, curse, out- 
weighs the advantage of being the first in Kodesh, the Holy 
One. In vain did Zadde call attention to Zaddik, the Right- 
eous One; there was Zarot, the misfortunes of Israel, to tes- 
tify against it. Pe had Podeh, the Redeemer, to its credit, 
but Peshah, transgression, reflected dishonour upon it. Ain 
was declared unfit, because, though it begins Anawah, humil- 
ity, it performs the same service for Erwah, immorality. 
Samek said: “O Lord, may it be Thy will to begin the creation 
with me, for Thou art called Samek, after me, the Upholder 
of all that fall.” But God said: “Thou art needed in the 
place in which thou art; thou must continue to uphold all 
that fall.” Nun introduces Ner, “the lamp of the Lord,” 
which is “the spirit of men,” but it also introduces Ner, “the 
lamp of the wicked,” which will be put out by God. Mem 
starts Melek, king, one of the titles of God. As it is the 
first letter of Mehumah, confusion, it had no chance of ac- 
complishing its desire. The claim of Lamed bore its refuta- 
tion within itself. It advanced the argument that it was the 
first letter of Luhot, the celestial tables for the Ten Com- 
mandments; it forgot that the tables were shivered in pieces 


198 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


by Moses. Kaf was sure of victory. Kisseh, the throne of 
God, Kabod, His honour, and Keter, His crown, all begin with 
it. God had to remind it that He would smite together His 
hands, Kaf, in despair over the misfortunes of Israel. Yod 
at first sight seemed the appropriate letter for the beginning 
of creation, on account of its association with Yah, God, if 
only Vezer ha-Rah, the evil inclination, had not happened to 
begin with it too. Tet is identified with Tob, the good. 
However, the truly good is not in this world; it belongs to 
the world to come. Het is the first letter of Hanun, the 
Gracious One; but this advantage is offset by its place in 
the word for Sin, Hattat. Zain suggests Zakor, remem-- 
brance, but is itself the word for weapon, the doer of mis- 
chief. Waw and He compose the Ineffable Name of God; 
they are therefore too exalted to be pressed into the service 
of the mundane world. If Dalat had stood only for Dabar, 
the Divine Word, it would have been used, but it stands also 
for Din, justice, and under the rule of law without love the 
world would have fallen to ruin. Finally, instead of remind- 
ing one of Gadol, great, Gimel would not do, because Gemul, 
retribution, begins with it. 

After the claims of all these letters had been disposed of, 
Bet stepped before the Holy One, blessed be He, and pleaded 
before Him: “O Lord of the World! May it be Thy will 
to create Thy world through me, seeing that all the dwellers 
in the world give praise daily unto Thee through me, as it is 
said ‘Blessed (Baruch) be the Lord for ever. Amen and 
Amen.’” The Holy One, blessed be He, at once granted the 
petition of Bet. He said, “Blessed be he that cometh in the 
name of the Lord.” And He created the world through Bet, 
as it is said: “Bereshit (in the beginning) God created the 
heaven and earth.” 

The only letter that had refrained from urging its claims 
was the modest Alef, and God rewarded it later for its humil- 
ity by giving it the first place in the Decalogue. (Louis Gins- 
burg, The Legends of the Jews, Vol. 1; Zohar, I, 2b-3b.) 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 199 


THE ANCIENT OF ANCIENTS 


We learned in the Secret Book that the Ancient of Ancients, 
the Mystery of Mysteries, the Secret of Secrets is imperfectly 
determinable. We know only that He is the Ancient of 
Ancients, the Secret of Secrets. By His works we glimpse 
faintly His being. He is the “Master of the white robe and 
refulgent visage.” He is seated on the throne which is made 
of clusters of flame. The white of His eye comprises four 
hundred thousand worlds, and in the world to come the just 
will inherit four hundred thousand worlds illumined by the 
light of the white of His eye. . . . Thirteen thousand times 
ten thousand worlds have their foundation and their support 
in the Head of the Ancient of Days. A dew issues each day 
from this Head and spreads outside of it, as it is written: “For 
my head is filled with dew.” This is the dew which, in the 
days to come, will restore the dead to life, as it is written: 
“For the dew which falls upon you is the dew of light.” It 
is this dew which keeps alive the higher saints; in the world 
to come it will constitute the ground Manna of the just... . 
The whiteness of the head shines in thirteen directions, four 
to the front, four to the right side, four to the left side, one 
above the Head; and thus it results that the length of the 
Face extends to three hundred and seventy times ten thousand 
worlds. (Zohar, III, 128a, b.) 


THE TWO WORLDS 


We learned that God created the world here below in the 
image of the world above. Jerusalem is the centre of the 
earth. First he built Zion. . . . It was from Zion, the centre 
of beauty, that the Beauty of God issued. Jerusalem here 
below is blessed by the Zion above. They are connected, each 
with each. . . . “And he shall go forth to come to the altar 
which is before the Lord, and he shall obtain the forgiveness 
of his sins.” There is a tradition which teaches us that at 


200 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


the moment when the priest here below grants forgiveness, 
the priest on high also grants forgiveness. One must begin 
with the priest here below in order to obtain remission from 
the priest on high. Rabbi Judah says: “If Israel only knew 
why God punishes him more severely than the other peoples, 
he would realize that God is not exacting even one hundredth 
part of his debt.” Multitudes of celestial legions are at the 
service of God; they sing the praises of God only when Israel 
here below sings the praises of God; and when Israel here 
below forgets the Lord, the singing of the angels is suspended. 
God says to Israel: “If thou but knewest how many myriads 
of angels thy sin suspends in their singing, thou wouldst know 
that thou art not worthy to live in this world, not even an 
hour.” Nevertheless, God does not abandon His people, but 
grants it salvation in giving it the means whereby to obtain 
the remission of its sins. When the sinful have made a breach 
in the world on high, and when the mighty serpent raises its 
head, the priest comes and places a crown on the head of the 
king, consummating the union between the king and the 
Mother (the divine Splendour). Then the world is blessed 
and peace spreads through the worlds below and on high; the 
angels in the celestial palaces rejoice, and penitent sinners 
here below are forgiven. (Zohar, III, 6 5b-66a. ) 


THE POWER OF PRAYER 


“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” These 
words of the Scripture are the deep and perfect and the eternal 
joy of the worlds when they are united with the Supreme 
Spirit. In this union imperfect spirits will attain perfection, 
and the spirits which were void of light will become refulgent. 
And all this union depends on nothing but the prayer of 
man... . Happy are they in this world below and in the 
world to come who know how to bring about this union and 
who know how to approach the Master. To this union belong 
genuflexion, adoration, prostration with arms extended, face 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 201 


to earth—which are motions made by those who desire to 
draw toward themselves the Supreme Spirit, the Soul of all 
souls, by those who desire that their prayers should ascend 
to the Supreme Being, the Infinite, which sends out light and 
benediction. . . . Happy is he who knows how to bring about 
this union; he is loved here below and in the world above. 
When the Holy One, blessed be He, decrees punishment, such 
a man is able to make it as nothing. Let it not be thought 
that therein this man would be acting contrary to the will of 
the Master; this is not so. But when he has brought about 
the union, all severe decrees are suspended of themselves; for 
severity cannot exist in the presence of the union. . . . Just 
as the smoke of sacrifice went up into the heavens when the 
High Priest officiated and the Levites sang the hymns, so do 
the spirits go up from celestial palace to celestial palace when 
a man addresses his prayers to the Supreme Light, the Light 
of Lights; it is then that the spirits, each like a small radiance, 
are drawn into the great radiance, and penetrate into the 
celestial Holy of Holies, where they are flooded with the ben- 
edictions which flow from the Holy of Holies, even as waters 
burst from an inviolable source. In this seventh celestial 
Palace dwells the Mystery of Mysteries which is beyond com- 
prehension and beyond thought. Here dwells the Eternal Will, 
the Will of the Infinite, the Will that rules the worlds above 
and below, the Will which can be apprehended only by the 
acts which attend it, the Will which is destined to reign here 
below as well as above, in order that the union of all with 
the Will shall be perfect. . . . At the moment of the union, 
we said, all forms and all images which exist only for the 
purpose of enabling the understanding to seize the Supreme 
Thought,—which is above all understanding because it is 
above all form and imagery—at this moment all forms and 
images disappear, and the Supreme Thought emerges in all 
its purity. Now the Supreme Will dwells in the Thought; 
wherefrom it follows that, by the prayer which brings about 
the union, man draws the Supreme Will down to us. It is 


202 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


concerning this mystery that the Scripture says: “Happy the 
people which possesses all these blessings; happy the people 
which has the Lord as its God.” Whosoever has the power 
of thus binding himself to the Master causes the world to 
share in the divine compassion; the prayer of man is never 
barren; it brings his needs before the Master, as a son brings 
his needs before his father. God grants the requests of such 
a man; such a man inspires fear in all created things; for 
he commands, and the Holy One, blessed be He, executes the 
command. Finally, it is concerning such a man that the 
Scripture says: “Thou formest thy plans and they are success- 
ful; and the Light shineth in the paths whereby thou goest.” 
(Zohar, I, 44b-46a.) ! 


THE HEAVENLY MEDIATOR 


David prayed: “Turn toward me and be merciful; give Thy 
servant strength.” Why did David imagine that God could 
turn toward him? Has not God more beautiful things towards 
which to turn? Tradition teaches that God has yet another 
David, chief of the celestial legions; and when God would 
grant His mercy to the world, He looks at this David, and 
His face is radiant; it illumines the universe and gives life 
to the world. The beauty of this David shines through all 
the worlds. His head is adorned with seven crowns of gold. 
. . . It is for this David that love and mercy awaken through- 
out all the ranks of the Celestial Hierarchy. It is of this 
David that Scripture writes: “He was light-haired; he had 
beautiful eyes and he was comely to see.” It is toward this 
celestial David that God turns. The Scripture says: “The 
odour of my son, who is like a field which the Lord hath 
blessed.” (Zohar, III, 84a.) 


RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 203 


4. Jewish Determinism 
THE DOMAIN OF DETERMINISM 


It is proven by the philosophy of nature that all things 
which are in the domain of becoming must have four causes; 
now like the existence of causes, the existence of effects must 
be granted, and the existence of these effects is not simply 
possible, but necessary. Again, if these causes are examined, 
it is seen that they in turn are necessarily determined by the 
existence of other causes . . . and if we seek the causes of 
these causes, turn by turn, the result will be the same, until 
we reach the first being, which necessarily exists. It therefore 
follows that the merely possible does not exist... . 

It is known and universally admitted that that which is 
potential cannot pass over into the active without an agency 
which shall cause this passage. Thus, as soon as the will to 
perform a certain act rises in a man, this will, which is at first 
only potential, must necessarily have had, in order to pass 
into action, an agency outside itself, and this agency is nothing 
more nor less than the object (impulse) which impels the func- 
tion of desire to unite and be confounded with the imagina- 
tion, which precipitates the act of the will, as Aristotle has 
proven in his work on the soul. Since it is this union which 
has brought about the voluntary act, the will was not free, 
and this union is itself necessary, for it is determined by the 
object (or impulse) which impels it... . 

It has already been proven in the first part of this treatise 
that the Divine Knowledge extends to all particular things, as 
particular things, even when, not having yet come into exist- 
ence, they possess no being. Then if God knows of two 
possibilities, the one that will be realized will necessarily be 
realized; otherwise it would no longer be knowledge, but sup- 
position and error. Therefore that which has been assumed 
to be possible is in reality necessary. . . . (Chasdai Crescas, 
The Light of the Lord.) 


204 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


THE DOMAIN OF LIBERTY 


The movement determines, it is true, the direction of the 
will, but the desire remains none the less a desire, and not a 
compulsion, a necessity; for its essence is such that it could 
desire the contrary event, if the impulse had not determined 
that it should desire the other, and it does this, moreover, 
without experiencing any compulsion or necessity. And pre- 
cisely because it is of its nature to be able to desire either one 
of two contraries the will is called will and not necessity. 
(Lbid., IV, 3.) 


GOD IMMANENT AND TRANSCENDENT 


I have now explained the nature of God and his properties. 
I have shown that He necessarily exists; that He is one God; 
that from the necessity alone of His own nature He is and 
acts; that He is, and in what way He is, the free cause of 
all things; that all things are in Him, and so depend upon 
Him that without Him they can neither be nor be conceived. 
(Spinoza, Ethics, I, Proposition XXXV, Appendix. ) 

Thought is one of the infinite attributes of God which ex- 
presses the eternal and infinite essence of God or, in other 
words, God is a thinking thing. (Jbdid., II, Prop. I.) 

Nothing is clearer than that Being absolutely infinite is nec- 
essarily defined as Being which consists of infinite attributes, 
each one of which expresses a certain essence, eternal and 
infinite. (Jbid., I, Prop. X, Schol.) 


IDEAS AND THINGS 


The order and connection of ideas is the same as the order 
and connection of things. 

Before we go any further, we must here recall to our memory 
what we have already demonstrated, that everything which 
can be perceived by the infinite intellect as constituting the 





RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 205 


essence of substance pertains entirely to the one substance 
only, and consequently that substance thinking and substance 
extended are one and the same substance, which is now com- 
prehended under this attribute and now under that. Thus, 
also, a mode of extension and the idea of that mode are one 
and the same thing expressed in two different ways—a truth 
which some of the Hebrews appear to have seen as if through 
a cloud, since they say that God, the intellect of God, and 
the things which are the objects of the intellect are one and 
the same thing. For example, the circle existing in nature 
and the idea that is in God of an existing circle are one and 
the same thing, which is manifested through different at- 
tributes; and, therefore, whether we think of nature under 
the attribute of extension, or under the attribute of thought, 
or under any other attribute whatever, we shall discover one 
and the same order, or one and the same connection of causes; 
that is to say, in every case the same sequence of things. 
Nor have I had any other reason for saying that God is the 
cause of the idea, for example, of the circle in so far only as 
He is a thinking thing, and of the circle itself in so far as He 
is an extended thing, but this, that the formal Being of the 
idea of a circle can only be perceived through another mode 
of thought, as its proximate cause, and this again must be 
perceived through another, and so on ad infinitum. So that 
when things are considered as modes of thought, we must ex- 
plain the order of the whole of nature or the connection of 
causes by the attribute of thought alone, and when things are 
considered as modes of extension, the order of the whole of 
nature must be explained through the attribute of extension 
alone, and so with other attributes. (Jdid., II, Prop. VII and 
Schol.) 


THE PRACTICE OF JOY 


It is to be observed that in the ordering of our thoughts 
and images we must always look to those qualities which in 


206 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


each thing are good, so that we may be determined to action 
always by a feeling of joy. For example, if a man sees that 
he pursues glory too eagerly, let him think on its proper use, 
for what end it is to be followed, and by what means it can 
be obtained; but let him not think upon its abuse and vanity, 
and on the inconstancy of men and things of this sort, about 
which no one thinks unless through disease of mind; for 
with such thoughts do those who are ambitious greatly tor- 
ment themselves when they despair of obtaining the honours 
for which they are striving; and, while they vomit forth rage, 
wish to be thought wise. Indeed, it is certain that those 
covet glory the most who are loudest in declaiming against its 
abuse and the vanity of the world. Nor is this a peculiarity 
of the ambitious, but is common to all to whom fortune is ad- 
verse and who are impotent in mind; for we see that a poor 
and avaricious man is never weary of speaking about the abuse 
of money and the vices of the rich, thereby achieving nothing 
save torment to himself and showing to others that he is un- 
able to bear with equanimity not only his own poverty but also 
the wealth of others. So also a man who has not been well 
received by his mistress thinks of nothing but the fickleness 
of women, their faithlessness, and their other oft-proclaimed 
failings,—all of which he forgets as soon as he is taken into 
favour by his mistress again. He, therefore, who desires to 
govern his inclinations and appetites from a love of liberty 
alone will strive as much as he can to know virtues and their 
causes, and to fill his mind with that joy which springs from 
a true knowledge of them. Least of all will he desire to 
contemplate the vices of men and disparage men, or to de- 
light in a false show of liberty. He who will diligently observe 
these things (and they are not difficult), and will continue to 
practise them, will assuredly in a short space of time be able 
for the most part to direct his actions in accordance with the 
command of reason. (Jbid., V, Prop. X and Schol.) 





RELIGIOUS THOUGHT 207 


_ THE INTELLECTUAL LOVE OF GOD 


God loves himself with an infinite intellectual love. (Jdid., 
V, Prop. XXXV.) 

The intellectual love of the mind toward God is the very 
love with which He loves Himself, not in so far as He is 
Infinite, but in so far as He can be manifested through the 
essence of the human mind, considered under the form of 
eternity; that is to say, the intellectual love of the mind to- 
wards God is part of the infinite love which God loves Him- 
self. 

Hence we clearly understand that our salvation, or blessed- 
ness, or liberty, consists in a constant and eternal love towards 
God, or in the love of God towards man. This love or blessed- 
ness is called Glory in the sacred writings, and not without 
reason. For whether it is related to God or to the mind, it 
may properly be called repose of mind, which is, in truth, not 
distinguished from Glory. (Jbid., V, Prop. XXXVI and 
Schol.) 

Blessedness is not the reward of virtue, but is virtue itself; 
nor do we delight in blessedness because we restrain our lusts; 
but, on the contrary, because we delight in it, therefore are 
we able to restrain them. 

I have finished everything I wished to explain concerning 
the power of the mind over the inclinations and concerning 
its liberty. From what has been said we see what is the 
strength of the wise man, and how much he surpasses the ig- 
norant man, who is driven forward by lust alone. For the 
ignorant man is not only agitated by external causes in many 
ways, and never enjoys true peace of soul, but lives also ig- 
norant, as it were, both of God and of things, and as soon as he 
ceases to suffer ceases also to be. On the other hand, the wise 
man, in so far as he is considered as such, is scarcely ever 
moved in his mind, but, being conscious of a certain eternal ne- 
cessity, of himself, of God, and of things, never ceases to be, 
and always enjoys true peace of soul. If the way which, as I 


208 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


have shown, leads hither, seems very difficult, it can neverthe- 
less be found. It must indeed be difficult, since it is so’seldom 
discovered; for if salvation lay ready to hand and could be 
discovered without great labour, how could it be possible that 
it should be neglected almost by everybody? But all noble 
things are as difficult as they are rare. (lbid., V, Prop. XLII 
and Schol.) 


Chapter III 
POETRY 


1. Mystical and Religious Poetry 
PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR 


BLESSED art Thou, O Lord, King of all the earth, Who sancti- 
fiest Israel and the day of remembrance. Thou rememberest 
ever the work of the universe, and revisitest all Thy primal 
creations. Before Thee the mysteries unveil and all the mul- 
titude of hidden things of old. For there is no forgetfulness 
before the throne of Thy glory and nothing is hidden from 
Thy sight .. . for Thou lookest and seest through to the 
end of the generations. Thou hast set up a law and a remem- 
brance for all spirit and all flesh, and many deeds and mul- 
titudes of creatures without number shall be recalled thereby. 
From the beginning didst Thou proclaim it, and from of old 
it was unveiled. This is the day that glorifies Thy work, a 
memorial of the first of days. This is a law unto Israel, a 
decree of the God of Jacob. And the fate of the nations shall 
be pronounced this day: war and peace, famine and harvest. 
And the fate of men shall be decreed, and life and death 
apportioned. Who shall not be mustered then? For every 
creature shall be remembered before Thee, the work of man 
and his appointed fate, his plans and intentions, his reflections 
and his cunning. Happy will be the man that hath not for- 
gotten Thee, and the son of man that hath found his strength 
in Thee. For he that seeketh Thee shall never stumble, and 
he that trusteth in Thee shall never be confounded. ... 
Thou, our God and the God of our fathers, let us be re- 


membered in kindness before Thee, and from the heaven of 
209 ; 


210 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


heavens let the compassionate decree go forth. And for us 
remember, God of our Fathers, the covenant and the mercy 
and the promise which Thou gavest on Mount Moriah to 
Abraham our father. Recall now how he bound his son Isaac 
upon the altar, and how his desire to serve Thee was stronger 
than pity for his son. Now let Thy pity be stronger than 
Thine anger against us, and let Thine infinite goodness turn 
back Thy wrath from against Thy people and T hy city and 
Thine inheritance. And O God, our God, let there be fulfil- 
ment of the words that were given from the throne of Thy 
glory through Moses Thy servant: I will remember unto them 
the first covenant, when I brought them forth out of the land 
of Egypt before the whole world, to be their God. I am the 
Lordi | 

Thy glory was unveiled in a cloud what time Thou didst 
speak unto Thy people. Thy voice was heard from heaven. 
Thou didst reveal Thyself in mists of splendour, the whole 
world shook and the primeval beasts trembled before Thee, 
when Thou, our King, wast unveiled on Sinai, to teach Thy 
people the Law and the commandments to let them hear the 
majesty of Thy voice, holy words from amid flames of fire, 
and the sound of a trumpet raised above them, as it is written 
in thy Torah: And it came to pass on the morning of the 
third day, and there were voices and lightning and a dark 
cloud over the mountain, and the sound of a trumpet exceed- 
ing strong, and trembling seized all the people in the host. 
And it is said: And the sound of the trumpet grew and became 
exceeding strong. Then Moses spoke and God answered with 
a mighty voice. And it is said: And the people beheld the 
blazing stones, and the lightning, and the smoking mountain, 
and they heard the mighty voices and the calling of the 
trumpet: and the people saw and were afraid and stood afar 
off. . . . And by the hand of Thy servants the prophets Thou 
hast written: Ye that dwell on earth, all the inhabitants thereof, 
ye shall behold a standard lifted on the mountains, and ye shall 
hear a great trumpet, and they that were lost shall return 


POETRY Zt 


from out of Assyria and they that were oppressed from out 
of Egypt, and they shall bow low before the Lord in the sacred 
mountain of Jerusalem. And it is said: And they shall see 
the Lord their God over them, and the lightning shall be His 
arrow, and He will blow a trumpet and ride on the whirlwinds 
of Temen. The Lord God of Hosts will shield them: Thy 
peace shall be like a shield over Thy people Israel. 

God, our God and the God of our fathers, sound the great 
trumpet of our liberation, and lift up the standard to assemble 
our exiles, and draw together those that are scattered among 
the nations and those that are dispersed to the ends of the 
earth, and lead us with song to Zion, Thy city, lead us in ever- 
lasting joy to the house of Thy holiness, Jerusalem. (The 
Prayer-Book.) 


NISHMAT 


The soul of all that lives shall bless Thy name, O God our 
God. The spirit that is in all flesh shall glorify and exalt 
Thy memory, Thou, our King. For ever and for ever art 
Thou God, from eternity unto eternity; and there is no other 
King and Savior. Thou art comfort and compassion in time 
of woe and distress, and Thou alone art our King. God of 
first and last things, master of creation, Lord of the genera- 
tions, endless praise to Him that governs His world with 
tenderness and leads His creatures with compassion. See! 
The Lord neither slumbereth nor sleepeth, but those that slum- 
ber He awakeneth, and those that sleep He rouseth: He giveth 
speech to the dumb, and freedom to the bound, and raiseth 
up the fallen and straighteneth them that stoop with weariness. 
Thee alone we acknowledge. Though we poured out melody 
like the sea, and song like the multitudes of its waves; though 
the praises of our lips were like the wide-spreading heavens, 
and our eyes lightened like the sun and moon; though our out- 
spread hands were like the wings of eagles and our steps as 
fleet as the hind, yet should we fail to give full glory to Thee, 


212 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


Lord our God and the God of our fathers, and fail to give full 
blessing to Thy name for the thousand thousand and ten 
thousand times ten thousand kindnesses which Thou has 
wrought with us and with our fathers. Thou didst bring us 
forth from Egypt, Thou didst deliver us from the house of 
bondage; Thou didst nourish us in time of hunger and 
give us satiety; Thou didst deliver us from the sword, Thou 
didst save us from pestilence; Thou didst keep us far from 
many and great evils. Until now Thy compassion hath been 
our help, and Thy grace hath not abandoned us. Lord our 
God, be with us for ever and ever. These, the limbs that Thou 
hast given us, the spirit and the soul that Thou didst breathe 
into us, and the tongue which Thou didst put into our mouths, 
they will praise and glorify and exalt Thee, they will reverence 
and sanctify Thy kingly name. For every tongue shall praise 
Thee and every mouth shall bless Thee and every knee shall 
bend unto Thee and every upright being prostrate itself be- 
fore Thee; and every heart shall fear Thee and every inward 
vessel sing to Thy name. As it is written: These my bones 
shall say, Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, Who deliverest 
the weak from the strong, the needy from the oppressor? 
Who shall be likened unto Thee? Who is equal unto Thee? 
Who shall be compared unto Thee, God the great, the mighty, 
the terrible, supreme God, Master of heaven and earth. We 
will praise Thee and glorify Thee and bless Thy name, as it is 
said of David: Praise the Lord, O my soul, and ye, the inward 
parts of me. ... (The Prayer-Book.) 


THE INTERCESSION OF THE PATRIARCHS 


Jeremiah went about by the fathers’ graves and said: “Be- 
loved ones, how can ye lie at rest, while your children are 
banished, pierced through with the sword? Where then is 
your merit in a land laid waste?” The patriarchs all cried 
with bitter lamentations, because they were bereft of their 
children; with an imploring voice they moaned te the Dweller 


POETRY 213 


in the skies: ‘Where is Thy pledge: ‘But I will for their sakes 
remember the covenant of their ancestors’?” 

“They changed My glory for vanity: they had no dread of 
Me, they feared Me not; when I hid my face from them, 
they longed not, and waited not for Me. How shall I then 
hold my peace when they say: ‘He is not our God’?”’ 

The father of the multitude cried in their behalf, and im- 
plored the Most High God: “In vain was I tried ten times 
for their sake, since I now behold their destruction. Where 
is Thy promise: ‘Fear not, Abram’?”’ 

“Ah, they have erred and gone astray from Me, and con- 
secrated themselves to strange gods; they counselled the peo- 
ple to hew out cisterns for them, but broken cisterns are theirs. 
How shall I hold my tongue when they break the ten com- 
mandments ?” 

And thus cried Isaac woefully unto the Dweller in the skies: 
‘In vain was I appointed to be slain, since my seed is crushed 
and ruined. Where is Thy pledge: ‘But I will establish My 
covenant with Isaac’?” 

“They rebelled against the prophet Jeremiah, and defiled 
Mount Moriah; I am weary of hearing the complaint which 
rises to me from the earth. And how shall I hold my peace 
since Zechariah is slain?” 

And then he spoke who was born for study, like jackals 
shedding tears. ‘My little ones whom I reared with care, 
why did they fly away too soon? Why was I punished a 
thousandfold for my bloodguilt?” 

Then spoke the faithful shepherd, covered with ashes, wal- 
lowing in dust: “The flocks that were entrusted to my care, 
why were they cut off before their time? Where is Thy 
pledge: ‘They shall not be widowed’?”’ 

The wailing voice of Leah, beating her breast, was then 
heard: her sister Rachel too bemoaned her sons; Zilpah struck 
her face; Bilhah lamented, lifting up her hands. 

“Return, O perfect ones, unto your rest; I will fulfil all your 
desires. For your sakes I was sent to Babylon;—TI will bring 


214 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


back your children from captivity.” Eleazar Ha-Kalir, 
Halper. ) 


THE ROYAL CROWN 
I 


Wonderful are thy works, as my soul overwhelmingly know- 
eth, 

Thine, O Lord, are the greatness and the might, the beauty 
and the triumph and the splendour. 

Thine, O Lord, is the Kingdom, and Thou art exalted as 
head over all. 

Thine are the riches and honour: Thine the creatures of 
the heights and depths. 

They bear witness that they perish, while Thou endurest. 

Thine is the might in whose mystery our thoughts can find 
no stay, so far art Thou beyond us. .. . 

Thine is the loving-kindness that ruleth over all Thy crea- 
tures, and the good treasured up for those who fear Thee. 

Thine are the mysteries that transcend understanding and 
thought. ... 

Thine is the existence from the shadow of whose light every 
being was created, 

Of which we say, in His shadow we live. 

Thine are the two worlds between which Thou hast set a 
boundary, 

The first for deeds and the second for reward. .. . 


II 


Thou art One, the first of every number, and the founda- 
tion of every structure. 

Thou art One, and at the mystery of Thy Oneness the wise 
of heart are struck dumb, 

For they know not what it is. 

Thou art One, and Thy Oneness can neither be increased 
nor lessened, 

It lacketh naught, nor doth aught remain over. 


POETRY 215 


Thou art One, but not like a unit to be grasped or counted, 

For number and change cannot reach Thee. 

Thou art not to be envisaged, nor to be figured thus and 
thuss ey 


III 


Thou existest, but hearing of ear cannot reach Thee, nor 
vision of eye, 

Nor shall the How have sway over Thee, nor the Wherefore 
and Whence. 

Thou existest, but for Thyself and for none other with Thee. 

Thou existest, and before Time began Thou wast, 

And without place Thou didst abide. 

Thou existest, and Thy secret is hidden and who shall 
attain to it? 

“So deep, so deep, who can discover it?” 


IV 


Thou livest, but not from any restricted season nor from 
any known period. 

Thou livest, but not through breath and soul, for Thou 
art soul of the soul. 

Thou livest, but not with the life of man, which is like unto 
vanity and its end the moth and the worm. 

Thou livest, and he who layeth hold of Thy secret shall find 
eternal delight: 

“He shall eat and live for ever.” 


Vv 


Thou art great, and compared with Thy greatness all great- 
ness is humbled and all excess diminished. 

Incalculably great is Thy being, 

Superber than the starry heaven, 

Beyond and above all grandeur, 

“And exalted beyond all blessing and praise.” . . . 


216 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 
VII 


Thou art Light celestial, and the eyes of the pure shall 
behold Thee, 

But the clouds of sin shall veil Thee from the eyes of the 
sinners. 

Thou art Light, hidden in this world but to be revealed in 
the visible world on high. . . . 


VIII 


Thou art God, and all things formed are Thy servants and 
worshippers. 

Yet is not Thy glory diminished by reason of those that 
worship aught beside Thee, 

For the yearning of them all is to draw nigh Thee, 

But they are like the blind, 

Setting their faces forward on the King’s highway, 

Yet still wandering from the path. 

One sinketh into the well of a pit, 

And another falleth into a snare, 

But all imagine they have reached their desire, 

Albeit they have suffered in vain. 

But Thy servants are as those walking clear-eyed in the 
straight path, 

Turning neither to the right nor the left, 

Till they come to the court of the King’s palace. 

Thou art God, by Thy Godhead sustaining all that hath 
been formed, 

And upholding in Thy Unity all creatures. 

Thou art God and there is no distinction betwixt Thy God- 
head and Thy Unity, Thy pre-existence and Thy existence, 

For ’tis all one mystery, 

And although the name of each be different, 

“Yet they are all proceeding to one place.” 


1D.¢ 


Thou art wise. And wisdom is the fount of life and from 
Thee it welleth, 


POETRY 217 


And by the side of Thy wisdom all human knowledge turn- 
eth to folly. 

Thou art wise, more ancient than all primal things, 

And wisdom was the nursling at Thy side. 

Thou art wise, and Thou hast not learnt from any beside 
Thee, 

Nor acquired wisdom from any save Thyself. 

Thou art wise, and from Thy wisdom Thou hast set apart 
Thy appointed purpose, 

Like a craftsman and an artist, 

To draw up the films of being from Nothingness 

As light is drawn that darteth from the eye: 

Without bucket from the fountain of light hath Thy work- 
man drawn it up, 

And without tool hath he wrought... . 


XXIV 


Who shall understand the mysteries of Thy creations? 
For Thou hast exalted above the ninth sphere* the sphere of 
intelligence. 


It is the Temple confronting us 
“The tenth that shall be sacred to the Lord.” 
It is the Sphere transcending height, 
To which conception cannot reach, 
And there stands the veiled palanquin of Thy glory. 
From the silver of Truth hast Thou cast it, 
And of the gold of Reason hast Thou wrought its arms, 
And on a pillar of Righteousness set its cushions, 
And from Thy power is its existence, 
And from and toward Thee its yearning, 
“And unto Thee shall be its desire.” 
—SOLOMON IBN GasiroL (Israel Zangwill’s translation). 


1In the stanzas of “The Royal Crown” omitted from this anthology is 
contained an astronomic system similar to that employed by Dante in his 
Paradiso. The poet passes through the nine spheres in crescendo and reaches 
the tenth, which is the subject of Stanza xxiv. See Zangwill’s introduc- 
tory essay to his translation of ibn Gabirol.—(Tr.) 


218 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 
TO ZION 


Art thou not hungry for thy children, Zion,— 
Thy sons far-scattered through an alien world? 
From earth’s four corners, over land and sea, 
The heavy-hearted remnant of thy flock 

Now send thee greeting: ‘Know that as the dew 
Falls daily on the ancient slopes of Hermon, 

So daily on the faces of thy children 

Tears of vain-longing fall.” And as for me, 
When I remember thee, the Desolate, 

My voice is like the jackal’s in the night, 

A wailing and a lamentation old; 

But when a dream of resurrection wakes— 

A momentary glory—then my voice 

Breaks like the harp’s into a jubilant ringing. . 
Thy names are on my lips, and in my heart 
Restless desire: Beth-El, Mach’nayim, P’niel— 
Assemblies once of the elect—on you 

The glory of His name was shed, for you 

The gates were open flung, and with a light 
Neither of sun, moon, stars, your beauty shone. 
Where on the dearest of His chosen ones 

God poured His spirit, let me pour my heart. 

I will pass to Hebron, where the ancient graves 
Still wait for me, and wander in the dusk 

Of the forests of Carmel. I will go to Gilead 
And from Gilead pass to Habarim and Hor, 
And stand upon the summit of the mountains 
Where once the unforgotten brothers stood 
And the light of them was seen throughout the world. 
There let me fall to earth and press my lips 
Into the dust, and weep thy desolation 

Til I am blind, and, blind, still comfort thee. 
I would to God that I were turned to dust 

So that the wind could scatter me upon thee. 
What comfort is in life for me, since now 
Thine eagles have become the prey of vultures? 
What pleasure in the light of day, since now 


POETRY 219 


Thy lions, dead, are less than living dogs? 
Oh, I can weep no more: enough, the cup 
Of bitterness is full and overflows. 
O Zion, beauty and gladness of the world, 
Thine is all love and grace, and unto thee 
In love and grace we are for ever chained. 
We who in thy happiness were happy 
Are broken in thy desolation. Each 
In the prison of his exile bows to earth, 
And turns him toward thy gates. Scattered and lost, 
We will remember till the end of time 
The cradle of our childhood, from a thousand seas 
Turn back and seek again thy hills and vales. 
Glory of Pathros, glory of Shinar, 
Compared to the light and truth that streamed from thee 
Are dust and vanity: and in all the world 
Whom shall I find to liken to thy seers, 
Thy princes, thy elect, thy anointed ones?- 
The kingdoms of the heathen pass like shadows, 
Thy glory and thy name endure for ever. 
God made His home in thee: well for the man 
Who makes God’s choice his own, with thee to dwell. 
And happy, happy the man who vigil keeps 
Until the day break over thee again, 
Until thy chosen are returned to thee, 
And thy first youth in glory is renewed. 
—JUDAH Ha-LeEvt. 


2. Profane Poetry 
FAREWELL TO CORDOVA 


The soul is deprived of that which it desires, and that 
which it asks is withheld from it. Although the body is plump 
and fed and fat, the glorious soul is not yet satisfied, A 
humble man walks on the earth, and yet his thoughts reach 
unto the skies. Of what avail is it to man to have his body’s 
pleasures, while his soul is distressed? Some friends there 
are who do harm, and profit not; they have big bodies, but 


220 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


their minds are small. They think that to increase my riches 
I depart from my dwelling-place, and roam about, though the 
locks of my hair are dishevelled and mine eye is painted with 
the colours of the night. My friends know not the secrets of 
my heart; indeed my friends spoke not knowingly. Their 
soul knows nought, nor does it understand; it is like the soul 
of a cloven-footed beast. 

Shall he withhold his hand, whose soul is like a moon, and 
like the moon strives to soar high? And shall he rest until 
he has girded his loins with her wings, as one girds on a cloth, 
till his deeds are heard throughout the world and like the 
ocean is his fame increased? 

I swear by God and by His worshippers (assuredly my like 
shall keep this oath) that I will ascend the rocks on foot, and 
go down to the deepest pit. The borders of the desert will I 
join, and cross the ocean in a boat with sails; I shall roam 
about until I soar and rise to a height that for ever shall be 
known. With terror shall I then inspire my foes, but my 
friends shall find salvation in me. The ears of freemen 
shall I bore through as slaves, and mine ear, too, shall be 
bored through by my friends. 

I have a soul that sustains my friends, but from my ad- 
versaries it is withheld. In it there is for thee a garden filled 
with friendship, planted by the brook of love; it is that friend- 
ship which is kept from early youth, like a signet fixed in a 
ring; it is engraved like the green gravings in a window cut 
in the door of a palace. 

May God be with thee as thou lovest, and may thy soul, 
which He loves, be redeemed from the hand of foes. May 
the God of deliverance send thee salvation, till there be no 
sun and moon. (Samuel ibn Nagdila, Halper. ) 


ON THE DEATH OF HIS BROTHER 


Oh, mourn, my soul, and with a mourning cloak be clad, 
and put ropes upon thy sackcloth; be gathered to go to the 


POETRY 221 


right and left, awake to wail and to strip off thy train. Sell 
thy joy forever; it shall never be redeemed, nor shall it have 
a jubilee. Write a bill of divorcement to rejoicing, take 
wailing instruments instead of harps. No longer shalt thou 
dread the wrath of time, nor fear the burning anger of the 
world; for what more can it do to thee? (Now that my 
brother is fallen, time is powerless to do me good or to wound 
me. It smote, and did not spare; it broke all thy strength 
and glory, as a vessel made of clay. It hurled down thy 
height with wrath. How canst thou say that thy lot is cast in 
pleasantness? ) 

Since my brother is gone, the world is no more wide; it is a 
prison and the world is like shackles. He that upheld the 
glory of all things, how is it that his back is now burdened 
with dust? Because he is gone the sun is the companion of 
jackals, the moon is the brother of mourning since his death. 

Now shall all understand that heaven’s host will fade and 
shrivel as a withering bud. All this shall vanish as a clod of 
earth, and yet the memory of his glory shall never grow old. 
When my brother went to the grave, I knew that all creation 
is but vanity. (Moses ibn Ezra, Halper.) 


EPITHALAMIUM IN HONOUR OF SOLOMON BEN MATIR 


Is it a scent of myrrh that pervades the air; or a breeze 
that shakes the myrtles? A cloud, or a great mass of spicery? 
Lightning, or the sparkling of wine-cups? Is it the clouds 
that pour out perfumes, or do the drops come from the myrtle- 
tops? Is it the tongueless mountains that burst forth with joy, 
or doves and birds on boughs? 

The clothing of the earth is inwrought with gold; its coats 
are made of variegated silk. Its paths are straight to him that 
treads on them, and mountain ridges have become like plains. 
The houses jubilantly shout, and the stone from the wall and 
the wooden beams respond. Erstwhile gloomy faces are now 
clad with joy, and men of grief are merry and exult. The lips 


222 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


of stammerers now plainly speak, to build the house of mirth 
that was destroyed. Indeed mysterious wonders now appear 
that have been hidden in the heart of time. The tent of glory 
has now been coupled, hooks have been placed into the loops 
of praise. Upon the mounts of myrrh have joys been set high, 
they are assembled on the hills of frankincense. On morning’s 
wings a voice proclaims unto the world (not on swift runners, 
nor on horses): “Solomon has lovingly betrothed a noble 
maid,” as though the sun and moon had been betrothed. 
(Moses ibn Ezra, Halper.) 


THE SONG OF WATER 


When the store of wine was ended 
From my weeping eye descended 
Streams of water, streams of water. 


From the meat the taste is wrested: 

Not the best can be digested 

With the board of drink divested— 
Saving water, only water. 


Moses a pursuing nation 
Doomed to watery damnation: 
Now my host in emulation 
Slays with water, slays with water. 


See, my song is changed to croaking, 

Like the frog in marshes soaking, 

With my lips like his invoking 
Gods of water, gods of water. 


May the house that with the hated 
Element its neighbours féted 
Be forever dedicated 
Unto water, unto water. 
—SOLOMON IBN GABIROL. 


POETRY 223 


PARTING 


If parting be decreed for the two of us, 
Stand yet a little while I gaze upon thy face. . . 


By the life of love, remember the days of thy longing, 

As I remember the nights of thy delight. 

As thine image passeth into my dreams, 

So let me pass, I entreat thee, into thy dreams, 

Between me and thee roar the waves of a sea of tears 

And I cannot pass over unto thee. 

But O, if thy steps should draw nigh to cross— 

Then would its waters be divided at the touch of thy foot. 

Would that after my death unto mine ears should come 

The sound of the golden bells upon thy skirts! 

Or shouldst thou be asking how fareth thy beloved, I from the 
depths of the tomb 

Would ask of thy love and thy welfare. 

Verily, to the shedding of mine heart’s blood 

There be two witnesses, thy cheeks and thy lips. 

How sayest thou it is not true, since these be my witnesses 

For my blood, and that thine hands have shed it? 

Why desirest thou my death, whilst I but desire 

To add years unto the years of thy life? 

Though thou dost rob my slumber in the night of my longing, 

Would I not give the sleep of mine eyes unto thy eyelids? .. . 

Yea, between the bitter and the sweet standeth my heart— 

The gall of parting, and the honey of thy kisses. 

After thy words have beaten out my heart into thin plates, 

Thine hands have cut it into shreds. 

It is the likeness of rubies over pearls 

What time I behold thy lips over thy teeth. 

The sun is on thy face and thou spreadest out the night 

Over his radiance with the clouds of thy locks. 

Fine silk and broidered work are the covering of thy body, 

But grace and beauty are the covering of thine eyes. 

The adornment of maidens is the work of human hands, 

But thou—majesty and sweetness are thine adornment... . 

In the field of the daughters of delight, the sheaves of love 


224 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


Make obeisance unto thy sheaf... . 

I cannot hear thy voice, but I hear 

Upon the secret places of my heart, the sound of thy steps. 

On the day when thou wilt revive 

The victims whom love for thee hath slain—on the day when 
thy dead shall live anew, 

Then turn again to my soul to restore it to my body; for on 
the day | 

Of thy departure, when thou wentest forth, it went out after 
thee. 

—Jupau Ha-Levr (Nina Salaman’s translation). 


THE WOLF AND THE ANIMALS 


The wolf, the chief noble after His Majesty the Lion, 
played havoc among the animals, robbing and slaughtering 
at will until the animals whose families had suffered came 
together and complained before the King, and cried unto him. 
The King called the wolf before him, and said, in anger: 
“From now on content yourself, for meat, with the dead bodies 
you find in the forest. But in punishment of your crimes, I 
forbid you to taste any meat for the next two years.” 

The wolf promised to obey. 

A few days later, being assailed by great hunger, he saw 
a lamb passing through the field, and his thoughts were in 
conflict within him. The lamb was tender and good to eat, 
and the wolf thought, “How is it possible to keep the com- 
mand of the King, not to kill any living thing? I am forbidden 
to eat any meat for two years. I have sworn to obey the 
King, and I must not turn from my oath. But what is day 
and what is night? When I close my eyes it is night, and 
when I open my eyes it is day.” And he closed his eyes and 
opened his eyes, and it was one day. 

And he did thus to the number of the days there are in two 
years, and said: “The two years have-passed.”” And he fell 
upon the lamb and killed it and ate it. 

The moral is, that he who is accustomed to rob and slay 


POETRY 225 


will find a way out of any oath he has taken. (Berachya ben 
Natronia, Fables.) 


IN PRAISE OF CHARITY 


And when the old man had heard their words, he said to 
them: “All of you are astray, and walk in darkness, and 
know not how to choose the truth. For all the virtues lie 
at her feet (Charity), and she is greater than all of them. 
She causes all sins to be forgiven, and turns hatred away 
from hearts. Through her man reaches all of his desires, 
though they be far, though they be in the heavens. Because 
of her a man shall be numbered among the just, and through 
her he achieves goodness and justice. With her he purchases 
himself a good name, and his memory is like a good ointment. 
And he that lacketh charity, his righteousness is not righteous- 
ness, his goodness is error and his virtue is sin. His comrades 
shall despise him and his acquaintances shall hate him, and 
his friends shall remember him for evil, and he shall be as a 
stranger in his own household. But the man of charity shall 
lift up his face, for his charity shall cover all his sins, and 
shall wipe out all his transgressions. His adversaries shall 
love him and his enemies shall praise him, the envious shall 
praise him and those that curse shall bless him. For with his 
charity he conquers their hearts, and draws out their love.” 
(Judah al-Charizi, Tachkemoni, XIX.) 


HOMAGE TO DANTE? 


When we ascended the steps of Eden, we saw wonderful 
things, for there were set lofty and exalted thrones that ap- 
peared to my sight exceedingly marvellous, so that the eye 
could not be satisfied with seeing. Among them was one throne, 
the radiance of which filled the world with splendour; it was 


* Tradition has it that this poem alludes to Dante, who was the friend of 
Emmanuel of Rome, and whose Divine Comedy the latter imitated. 


226 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


like the work of bright sapphire, and like the very heavens 
for clearness. ‘The footstool of it had long edges, and the 
bright metal thereof flashed continually. I longed to sit upon 
it and I said: “I pray thee, my lord, for whom is this honoured 
and pleasant throne, and for whom is the footstool of image- 
work?” And he said unto me, “As thou livest, this throne is 
prepared for the mightiest of the shepherds, and for him it 
shall be; that is Judah, the lion’s whelp, who prevailed above 
his brethren. . . . And thou shalt sit near him, and shalt be 
close unto him.” 

And it came to pass, when I had heard these words, that 
I remembered the rank of Daniel,’ my brother, who had led 
me in the right way, and directed my path, and who had been 
near me when I fled. He is the holy plate of the crown upon 
my forehead, the life of my flesh and the breath of my spirit. 
I thought of the full account of his greatness, of his generosity 
and excellence, of his prudence and understanding, of his hu- 
mility and righteousness, and of his renown which fills the ends 
of the earth. 

I then said unto the man that held my right hand, “I pray 
thee, my lord, show me the place of Daniel and his habitation; 
what manner of house do you build for him, and what is his 
place of rest?” And he said unto me: “Know of a certainty 
that his rank is very high, and that the ends of the earth 
are full of his renown; even thy rank is too low to reach 
him. For he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for 
the transgressors. But because the Highest Wisdom knew that 
without thee he would find no rest and no repose, it placed thy 
booth near his booth, though thy worth is less than his; for the 
Highest Wisdom knew that he will have delight in thy com- 
pany: he would be Moses and thou wouldst be Joshua unto 
him; in order that all may declare, as it is said: Your souls 
are united, they cling together and cannot be sundered.” 
(Emmanuel of Rome, Halper.) 


1 This is presumably Dante. 


Chapter IV 


TRADITION AND LIFE 


1. The Moralists 
REFLECTIONS AND ADMONITIONS 


O my soul, run to and fro through the streets of thy under- 
standing, and go about the chambers of thy wisdom, and come 
unto the structure of the building of thy imagery, whose 
foundation is in dust; is it not a despised body and carcase 
trodden under foot? It is formed out of a troubled fountain 
and a corrupted spring, built of a fetid drop; it is burned 
with fire, it is cut down. It is an unformed substance resem- 
bling a worm, it is nought but terror. It is kept in a foul 
womb, closed up in an impure belly; it is born with pangs and 
sorrows to see trouble and vanities. All day long it covets 
pleasures, and departs from instruction and from command- 
ments; it comes in the dark and goes away in the dark: it is 
a poor, needy and destitute wayfarer. It has no knowledge 
without thee, and no understanding beside thee. While alive, 
it is dust, and when it dies, it is ashes. As long as it lives, 
worms surround it, and its end comes, vermin and clods of 
dust cover it. It cannot discern between its right hand and 
its left hand; its lot is hidden in the ground. Go thou, there- 
fore, and reign over it, for sovereignty is meet unto the chil- 
dren of wisdom, and the foolish are servants unto the wise of 
Deattona 

Therefore hearken, I pray thee, and consider, and incline 
thine ear; forget thy people and thy father’s house. Arise, 
sing unto thy King all thy day and all thy night; lift up thy 
hands toward Him, and bow down unto Him with thy face to 

227 


228 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


the ground; let thine eyelids gush out with waters, and kneel 
thou upon thy knees; the King may perchance desire thy 
beauty, and lift up His countenance unto thee and give thee 
peace. (Bachya ibn Pakuda, Duties of the Heart.) 


COUNSEL 


In thirteen places, in the Pentateuch are found commands 
to love God; the spirit which is given to the love of God 
serves the Creator even when violence is exerted against its 
service. At such a time man is filled with ardent desire to 
follow the will of God, and joy in the Lord brings oblivion of 
earthly pleasures; he that loves God takes no longer pride in 
his wife and his child. He thinks of nothing but how to 
fulfil the will and commandments of God, to glorify His name 
and to offer his life as a sacrifice. Such men do not over- 
estimate their own value, waste not their breath in foolish 
conversation, desire not the countenance of women, listen 
silently to abuse—for their thoughts are with Him to whom 
their lips sing praise... . 

Let your imaginings be chaste, even as your deeds. Flee 
from the indecent, and give it neither eye nor ear; pleasure 
will sunder thee from God. Remember therefore thy Creator 
in the days of thy youth, thy Father who created thee, nour- 
ished thee and clad thee and show Him not ingratitude 
through impurity of thoughts. Shut thy heart against envy, 
which kills men before their time; envy only the good quali- 
ties of men, and learn to imitate what is good in them. Keep 
the peace within and without the city, for it is well with all 
them that counsel peace; be honest, deceive none through 
dissimulation, smooth words and untruth. Man dies before 
his time because of practising deceit; but God the Eternal is 
a God of truth; He first created truth. Be silent in rever- 
ence, for out of much speech is bound to come sin. But when 
thou speakest, speak truth, praise not thyself, and be modest. 
Eleazar ben Judah, Rokeach.) 


TRADITION AND LIFE pain 


2. The Apologists 
LETTER TO AN APOSTATE 


I have received a letter which to me remains dark and 
baffling; from part of it I have understood only this much— 
that my ancestors have lived in pitiful error. With great 
difficulty I managed to deduce this much; the Holy Spirit 
must have brooded over thee whilst thou wrotest. “Blessed 
be the Messiah, who has given thee an understanding heart 
and an attentive ear . . . he speaks folly who says that love 
and law are two lights; understanding hath nothing to do with 
conclusions and proofs... . Faith alone mounts upwards, 
and he that denies it descends to hell. . . . 

“Be not therefore like thy fathers, who believed in one 
God, from whom they divorced all plurality, who erred in 
that sentence: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord Thy God the Lord 
is One,’ but who in that unity did not understand a unity 
arising out of union, of relationship, of joining, or a unity 
whereto such could be attributed. Do not you believe this, 
but believe rather one is three and three are one ..).\in- 
wardly and essentially united, that which the lips cannot 
utter and the ear, cannot grasp. Be not therefore like your 
fathers, who held that God is changeless, and wrongly quoted 
in proof the verse: I, the Lord, change not; who thought He 
could not be incorporated in any body or in any thought, 
who saw in him, by philosophic speculation, only pure spirit. 
. . . Be not so: beware of thinking it impossible for Him to 
embody Himself; believe, rather, that He, or one of His three 
selves, became flesh when He desired that His blood should 
be shed for the sins of his people. Thank Him that he suf- 
fered death to save you; His wisdom had found no other 
Kind of salvation for you. . . . Be not like your fathers, who 
conducted many philosophic inquiries into the nature of Para- 
dise, the four rivers, the tree of knowledge, the serpent and 
the aprons of skin. Be not so: take everything rather in a 


230 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


literal sense, so that you may see man crushed under the 
burden of original sin, unable to rise thereunder, until his 
Savior come and rescue him, that the punishment whereof no 
mention whatsoever is made in Scripture might cease—and 
the punishment of which specific mention is made might con- 
tinue. Hold fast, then, to this mystery of the soul’s punish- 
ment, revealed by the chief of the Apostles, whose name, Paul, 
was even that of your teacher; great will your reward be 
because you are completely of the faith. Be not like your 
fathers, who gave themselves up greatly to philosophy, phys- 
ics, logic, mathematics, seeking to discover truth through 
these channels. Be not so! Far be it from you to hold as 
true the very first conclusion taught by logic, if this must 
lead to the denial of your faith; for you must come to this 
conclusion: God is the Father, God is the Son, therefore the 
Father is the Son. Do not accept, either, that which is held 
as an axiom in mathematics, namely, that the great and the 
little are not alike, and that a number is the sum of its units; 
for your faith teaches you that the larger body of the Mes- 
siah is equal to the small Host and is contained therein. Be- 
lieve rather that the whole world could be contained in a 
mustard-seed, and that the various bodies of the Messiah, 
whereof there are thousands, one in each’ Host, are not a 
plurality, but still do constitute one and the same unit. And 
do not be misled, either, by the first principles of physics; 
wherefrom it appears that motion must take place in time, 
but that motion and rest cannot belong simultaneously to the 
same body; believe rather that the body of the Messiah 
descends from heaven upon the Altar, whereas He still re- 
mains in heaven above. He descends at the wonderful word 
of the priest who, in fact, need not be a High Priest, but 
may be great or small, wise or foolish, good or evil, God- 
fearing or sinful—for the essential power lies in the word, 
which was passed on from the lips of the Messiah through 
his prophets and sages, pupils and apostles. Hold fast to 


TRADITION AND LIFE 231 


this faith, which will bring you eternal felicity.” (The Let- 
ter of Prophiat Duran.) 


CONCERNING USURY 


As regards usury, this vice is not Jewish in its nature, for 
though some Jews may be found in Germany who practise 
it, yet the Jews who have fled from Spain and have found 
refuge in Turkey, Italy, Hamburg and Holland, avoid the 
practice of it. They extend loans on a small profit of four 
or five per cent to Christians, for the lending of money with- 
out any profit whatsoever is only enjoined upon them in re- 
gard to their fellow Jews, not in regard to those of other 
nations. Nevertheless, there is no limitation on the practice 
of this benevolence. It is in the nature of things that each 
one should try to use his money to the best advantage, and 
to make a living therefrom. When a merchant takes over a 
consignment of goods, on which he expects to make profit, 
paying therefor with money borrowed, it is not wrong for 
the lender of the money to demand a share of the profits, 
for just as no one is obligated to give away his wealth to 
strangers, so is no one obligated to dedicate usufruct to 
Strangers, but if he lends it he must receive some compen- 
sation, which he might in any case have obtained with his 
own money. But this must be practised, of course, with due 
moderation, so that the percentage does not overstep the 
mark, and no treachery is practised, as often happens be- 
tween one Christian and another, as, for instance, in the case 
of the charitable brothers of Padua, Vicenza and Verona, 
where they lend on things in pawn at a rate of six per cent 
and more at their institutes. This cannot, however, be called 
robbery, inasmuch as the borrowers enter of their free will 
upon the contract. That very Scripture which permits the 
taking of interest from those that are of another religion, 
specifically prohibits robbing, betraying or overreaching any 


232 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


man, to whatsoever religion he may belong. It is a much 
greater trespass, according to our religion, to rob or betray 
the member of another faith, than to do so to one of our 
own faith, for the Jew is bidden to show humanity toward 
every human being, and has been commanded to hate neither 
the Idumean nor the Egyptian, and to love and protect the 
stranger who is within his gates. But if some are found who 
act against this law, they do so not as Jews, but as worthless 
creatures, as usurers and wretches are found among every 
people. (Menassah Ben Israel, Letter to the English Re- 
public.) 


RITUAL MURDER 


With regard to the accusation of ritual murder against the 
Jews, it is relevant to recall what is reported concerning the 
negroes of New Guinea and Brazil, who, when they see an 
unhappy man helpless upon the sea, or who has suffered ship- 
wreck or some such mischance, they persecute and torture 
him all the more therefor, for they state that he is accursed 
of God. We certainly do not dwell among blacks or bar- 
barians, but among the white and civilized peoples of the 
world, yet we have found it true that he that is unfortunate 
rouses contempt and bad opinion, just as he that is fortu- 
nate, on the contrary, is well regarded. This much the Chris- 
tians themselves have experienced. During the repressions 
and the persecutions in Rome, they were falsely calumniated. 
Nero accused them that they had set fire to Rome. Others 
accused them of being sorcerers and exorcisers, others accused 
them of killing the children of heathens in order to use them 
at their ceremonies, as may be seen from various authors. 
The attitude toward the Jews is the same, for they are scat- 
tered and oppressed, whatever wealth they may possess. 
There is no accusation, there are no calumnies which are not 
uttered against them, even down to that old and pitiful ac- 
cusation that they make use of the blood of Christian chil- 


TRADITION AND LIFE 233 


dren. Every one can easily understand that this is the purest 
calumny, for every one knows that they no longer make use 
of blood or sacrifice; even the drop of blood which is found 
in the egg is forbidden them, much more so the blood of a 
human being. . . . I do not wish to expatiate on this sub- 
ject. I would only recall that a Pope, in full council, has 
declared the accusation to be false. The princes of Italy 
have pronounced a similar judgment, as also Alfonso the 
Wise, King of Spain, to the effect that it is a pure invention, 
in order to furnish excuses to confiscate the possessions of 
the Jews. (Jbid.) 


3- Customs and Ceremonies 
WEDDINGS 


At the time agreed upon, the bridegroom and the bride are 
conducted under a canopy into a hall or chamber, with music, 
and some have little boys with torches in their hands, to sing 
before them. When the people are come in, they put one of 
those square veils called a talith, with fringes upon it, over 
the heads of both bridegroom and bride. The Rabbis of the 
place, or the cantor of the Synagogue, or the nearest relative, 
takes a cup of wine in his hand, and after he has blessed God 
for having created man and woman and instituted matri- 
mony, he gives both the bridegroom and the bride some to 
drink. Then the bridegroom puts the ring on the bride’s 
finger, in the presence of two witnesses, who are usually 
Rabbis; and the bridegroom says: “Behold, with this thou 
art my wife according to the law of Moses and of Israel.” 
Then they read the writing of the dowries, in which the 
bridegroom obligates himself, in consideration of the dowry 
he has received, to maintain her, live with her, etc., and 
pledges himself to the performance of these in writing. They 
then take another vessel of wine, and sing six other benedic- 
tions, which make seven in all, and give the newly married 


234 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


couple some of the wine to drink, and pour the rest upon the 
ground, in token of mirth. They then give the empty cup 
into the bridegroom’s hand, who dashes it against the 
ground as hard as he can, and breaks it: the meaning of 
which is, to mix with their mirth the remembrance of death, 
which breaks us to pieces like glass, and thus we are re- 
minded not to be too proud. At that instant all the people 
cry out mazol tob, which means good luck. (Leon de Mo- 
dena, Customs and Ceremonies.) 


OF DEATH AND BURIAL 


When any one is dead, they lay the corpse upon the ground, 
wrapped up in a sheet, with the face covered, and set a wax 
candle at the head, placed in a pitcher or an earthen vessel 
full of ashes. Soon after, they set about the making of the 
linen drawers for the deceased, and send for people to help 
them. The women, for the most part, account it a deed of 
charity to help in such a case. Then they wash the body 
well with hot water, which has camomile and dried roses in 
it, and put on him a good shirt, and the drawers; to which 
some add a little vest of fine linen and his talith, and a white 
bonnet upon his head. Thus he is put into a coffin made to 
fit him, with a white linen cloth under him and another above 
him; and if he be a person of note, they make his coffin 
sharp-pointed; and if a Rabbi, they lay a great many books 
upon the coffin, which is covered with a black cloth, and so 
they carry it out of the house. Then all the people round 
about come together, and, because they count it a very 
meritorious work, they accompany the deceased, carry him 
to the grave, and every one puts his shoulder to the coffin, 
and so they take it by turns. In some places they carry 
lighted torches after the corpse, and sing mournful songs, 
and in other places it is not so. The relatives follow after 
the corpse, in mourning. 

Thus they convey him to a burial-place, which is always 


TRADITION AND LIFE 235 


a field set apart for the same purpose, and they call it the 
Beth Chayim, or house of the living, reckoning the dead to 
be alive, in respect of their souls. When they have set him 
down, if he be a person of credit, there is one that makes 
an oration in commendation of him. Then they say certain 
prayers, which begin with the words of Deuteronomy 32, 
“He is the rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are 
judgment.” Then they put a little bag of earth under his 
head, and, having nailed up the coffin, they carry him to his 
grave, which is a pit made fit for him near the place where 
the rest of his relatives lie buried. In some countries, when 
they have set the coffin near the grave, ten persons go round 
the coffin seven times, saying a prayer for the soul of the 
deceased, but in other places this is not practiced. Then the 
nearest kinsman rends his clothes a little, and they put the 
deceased into the grave, and every one comes and throws a 
shovelful or a handful of earth upon him till he is quite 
covered. . . . As they come away from the grave each one 
plucks up two or three handfuls of grass, which he throws 
behind him, saying, in the words of the Psalmist, “And they 
of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth,” in token 
of the resurrection. (Leon de Modena, Customs and Cere- 
monies.) 


4. The Community 
THE POLISH SYNOD 


Under this king the Jews in Poland introduced (1586- 
1592) an institution which had not existed in that particular 
form in Jewish history. It gave the Polish communities ex- 
traordinary unity, firmness and strength, and hence secured 
respect both from their members and outsiders. Hitherto it 
had naturally come about that, at the meeting of Rabbis and 
heads of schools with their followers at the great fairs, im- 
portant questions were discussed, law cases were settled, and 


236 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


general consultations took place. The utility of such meet- 
ings may have become clearly apparent, and given rise to 
the idea of arranging regular conferences of the heads of 
communities, to draw up final, binding decisions. Both lead- 
ers and communities must have been actuated by a healthy 
spirit in agreeing to common action. The communities of 
the chief provinces, Little Poland, Greater Poland and Rus- 
sia, were the first to unite in instituting conferences (Vaad) 
at regular intervals, to take place at the great fairs of Lublin 
and Jaroslav. The communities sent delegates, learned men 
of proved excellence, who had a seat and a vote in the synod. 
They chose a president, who directed the discussion of ques- 
tions, and drew up a report of the session. Disputes in the 
communities, questions of taxation, religious and social regu- 
lations, the averting of threatened dangers, and help to 
brethren in distress, were the main points treated by the 
synods, and settled finally. The synods also exercised a lit- 
erary censorship by granting permission for certain books to 
be printed and sold, and refusing it in the case of others 
which seemed to them harmful. Probably the Lithuanian 
Jews were represented at a later period, and the synods were 
called the Synods of the Four Countries (Vaad Arba Ara- 
zoth). ‘These conferences had a very beneficial effect: they 
prevented long-standing dissensions, averted or punished acts 
of injustice, kept alive a feeling of union amongst the com- 
munities, directing them towards common action, thereby 
counteracting the narrowness and selfishness of merely local 
interests, which so greatly encouraged the dismemberment 
and isolation of communities, as, for example, in Germany. 
On this account the synod of Polish Jews was respected even 
abroad; and distant German communities or private indi- 
viduals who had any complaint to make, applied to these 
supreme assemblies, certain to obtain relief. It is to the 
glory of the men who, for nearly two hundred years, pre- 
sided over the synods, that their names, worthy of the re- 
membrance of posterity, remained in obscurity, as though 


TRADITION AND LIFE 237 


they had consciously suppressed their individualities in favour 
of the community at large. Still less is known of the origi- 
nators of this institution, who succeeded in the difficult task 
of overcoming the anarchic tendency of the people, as Jews 
and as Poles, and of inducing them to subordinate them- 
selves to one great end. (Graetz.) 


DECADENCE 


The study of the Talmud in Poland, established by 
Shachna, Solomon Luria, and Moses Isserles, reached a pitch 
attained at no previous time, nor in any other country. 
The demand for copies of the Talmud was so great that in 
less than twenty years three editions had to be printed, no 
doubt in thousands of copies. The study of the Talmud 
was a greater necessity in Poland than in the rest of Eu- 
LODE? 2 eae 

It would be tedious to enumerate the rabbinical authors 
of Poland in the first half of the seventeenth century. The 
cultivation of a single faculty, that of hair-splitting judg- 
ment, at the cost of the rest, narrowed the imagination, hence 
not a single literary product appeared in Poland deserving 
the name of poetry. All the productions of the Polish school 
bore the Talmudical stamp, as the school regarded every- 
thing from the Talmudical point of view. The disciples of 
this school looked down almost with contempt on Scripture 
and its simple grandeur, or rather it did not exist for them. 
How, indeed, could they have found time to occupy them- 
selves with it? And what could they do with these children’s 
stories, which did not admit of the application of intellectual 
subtlety? They knew something of the Bible from the ex- 
tracts read in the synagogues, and those occasionally quoted 
in the Talmud. The faculty for appreciating the sublimity 
of biblical doctrines and characters, as well as simplicity and 
elevation in general, was denied them. A love of twisting, 
distorting, ingenious quibbling, and a foregone antipathy to 


238 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


what did not lie within their field of vision, constituted the 
character of the Polish Jews. Pride in their knowledge of 
the Talmud and a spirit of dogmatism attached even to the 
best Rabbis, and undermined their moral sense. The Polish 
Jews of course were extraordinarily pious, but even their 
piety rested on sophistry and boastfulness. Each wished to 
surpass the other in knowledge of what the Code prescribed 
for one case or another. Thus religion sank, not merely, as 
among Jews of other countries, to a mechanical, unintelligent 
ceremonial, but to a subtle art of interpretation. (Graetz.) 


THE SECT OF THE CHASSIDIM 


There arose in Poland a new Essenism, with forms similar 
to those of the ancient cult, with ablutions and baths, white 
garments, miraculous cures, and prophetic visions. Like the 
old movement, it originated in ultra-piety, but soon turned 
against its own parent, and perhaps hides within itself germs 
of a peculiar kind, which, being in course of development, 
cannot be defined. .. . 

The founder of the new Chassidim was Israel of Mied- 
ziboz (born about 1698; died 1759)... . He received, alike 
from his admirers and his antagonists, the surname of “The 
Wonder-worker by means of Invocations in the Name of 
God,” Baal-shem or Baal-Shemtob, in the customary abbre- 
viated form, Besht. . . . The experiences of Israel’s youth 
are unknown. So much, however, is certain; he was left an 
orphan, poor and neglected, early in life, and passed a great 
portion of his youth in the forests and caves of the Car- 
pathian mountains. The spurs of the Carpathian hills were 
his teachers. Here he learnt what he would not have ac- 
quired in the dark, narrow, dirty hovels called schools in 
Poland—namely, to understand the tongue which nature 
speaks. The spirits of the mountains and the fountains 
whispered secrets to him. Here he also learned, probably 
from the peasant women who gathered herbs on the mountain- 


TRADITION AND LIFE 239 


tops and on the edges of rivers, the use of plants as remedies. 
As they did not trust to the healing power of nature, but 
added conjurations and invocations to good and evil Spirits, 
Israel also accustomed himself to this method of cure. He 
became a miracle-doctor. Necessity, too, was his teacher; 
it taught him to pray. How often, in his forsaken and 
orphaned condition, may he have suffered from want even of 
dry bread, how often may he have been surrounded by real 
or imaginary dangers! In his distress he prayed in the usual 
forms of the synagogue; but he spoke his words with fervor 
and intense devotion, or cried them aloud in the solitude of 
the mountains. His audible prayer awakened the echoes of 
the mountains, which appeared as an answer to his suppli- 
cations. He seems to have been often in a state of rapture, 
and to have induced this condition by frantic movements of 
the whole body while praying. This agitation drove the 
blood to his head, made his eyes glitter, and brought both 
body and soul into such a condition of overexcitement that 
he felt a deadly weakness come over him. Was this mag- 
netic tension of the soul caused by the motions and the 
shoutings, singing and praying? .. . 

It would have been a remarkable thing if such a wonder- 
doctor, who appeared to have intercourse with the spirit 
world, had not found adherents, but he can hardly have de- 
signed the formation of a new sect. He was joined by per- 
sons of a similar disposition to his own, who felt a religious 
impulse, which could not be satisfied, they thought, by a 
rigorous, penitential life, or by mechanical repetition of pre- 
scribed prayers. They joined Israel, in Miedziboz, to pray 
with devotion, i.e., in a singsong tune, clapping their hands, 
bowing, jumping, gesticulating, and uttering cries. ... 

It became the fashion in neo-Chassidean circles to scoff 
at the Talmudists. Because the latter mocked at the un- 
learned chief of the new order, who had a following without 
belonging to the guild of Talmudists, without having been 
initiated into the Talmud and its appendages, the Chassidim 


240 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


deprecated the study of the Talmud, avowing that it was not 
able to promote a truly godly life. Covert war existed be- 
tween the neo-Chassidim and the Rabbinites; the latter could 
not, however, harm their opponents so long as Israel’s ad- 
herents did not depart from existing Judaism. After the 
death of the founder, when barbarism and degeneracy in- 
creased, the feud grew into a complete rupture under Beer 
of Mizricz. 

Dob Beer (or Berish) was no visionary like Israel, but 
possessed the faculty of clear insight into the condition of 
men’s minds. He was thus able to render the mind and will 
of others subservient to him. Although he joined the new 
movement only a short time before Israel’s death, yet, 
whether at his suggestion or not, Israel’s son and sons-in-law 
were passed over, and Beer was made Israel’s successor in 
the leadership of the neo-Chassidean community. Beer, who 
transferred the centre to Mizricz—a village in Volhynia—was 
superior to his master in many points. He was well read in 
Talmudical and Kabbalistic writings, was a fluent preacher 
(Maggid) who, to further his purpose, could make the most 
far-fetched biblical verses, as also Haggadic and Zoharic ex- 
pressions, harmonize and thus surprise his audience. He 
removed from the Chassidim the stigma of ignorance, espe- 
cially disgraceful in Poland, and secured an accession of sup- 
porters. He had a commanding appearance, did not mingle 
with the people, but lived the whole week secluded in a small 
room—only accessible to his confidants—and thus acquired 
the renown of mysterious intercourse with the heavenly 
world. Only on the Sabbath did he show himself to all who 
longed to be favoured with the sight of him. On this day he ap- 
peared splendidly attired in satin, his outer garment, his shoes, 
and even his snuff-box being white, the colour signifying grace 
in the Kabbalistic language. On this day, in accordance with 
the custom introduced by Israel Besht, he offered up prayers 
together with his friends, with the new strangers who had 
made a pilgrimage to him, with the new members, and those 


TRADITION AND LIFE 241 


curious to see the Kabbalistic saint and wonder-worker. .. . 

In order to strengthen respect for him, Beer propounded a 
theory, which in its logical application is calculated to pro- 
mote most harmful consequences. Supported by the Kab- 
balistic formula, that “the righteous or the pious man is the 
foundation of the world,” he magnified the importance of the 
Zaddik, or the Chassidean chief, to such an extent that it 
became blasphemy. “A Zaddik is not alone the most per- 
fect and sinless human being, he is not alone Moses, but the 
representative of God and His image.” All and everything 
that the Zaddik does and thinks has a decided influence upon 
the upper and lower world. The Deity reveals Himself espe- 
cially in the acts of the Zaddik; even his most trifling deeds 
are to be considered important... .In his “Stiibel,” or 
“Hermitage,” i.e., in his dirty little retired chamber, he con- 
sidered himself as great as the papal vicar of God upon 
earth in his magnificent palace. The Zaddik was also to 
bear himself proudly towards men; all this was “for the 
glory of God.” It was a sort of Catholicism within Judaism. 
(Graetz. ) 


THE GAON* [GENIUS] OF WILNA 


Earnest men, also, desirous of satisfying their spiritual 
wants, felt themselves attracted to the Chassidim. Rab- 
binical Judaism, as known in Poland, offered no sort of re- 
ligious comfort. Its representatives placed the highest value 
upon the dialectic, artificial exposition of the Talmud and its 
commentaries. Actual necessity had besides caused that por- 
tion of the Talmud which treated of civil law to be closely 
studied, as the rabbis exercised civil jurisdiction over their 
flocks. Fine-spun decisions of new complicated legal points 
occupied the doctors of the Talmud day and night. More- 
over, this hair-splitting was considered sublimest piety, and 


1 More exactly, the word Gaon once meant the head of one of the great 
Babylonian Academies.—(Tr.) 


242 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


superseded everything else. If any one solved an intricate 
Talmudic question, or discovered something new, called 
Torah, he felt self-satisfied and assured of his felicity here- 
after. All other objects, the impulse to devotion, prayer, and 
emotion, or interest in the moral condition of the community, 
were secondary matters, to which scarcely any attention was 
paid. The mental exercise of making logical deductions from 
the Talmud, or more correctly from the laws of Mine and 
Thine, choked all other intellectual pursuits in Poland. Re- 
ligious ceremonies had degenerated, both amongst Talmudists 
and the unlearned, into meaningless usages, and prayer into 
mere lip-service. To men of feeling this aridity of Talmudic 
study, together with the love of debate, and the dogmatism 
and pride of the rabbis arising from it, were repellent, and 
they flung themselves into the arms of the new order, which 
allowed so much play for the fancy and the emotions... . 

The first violent attack upon them was made by a man 
whose influence was blessed during his lifetime and even 
after death, and who, in a more favorable environment, 
might, like Mendelssohn, have effected much for the moral 
advancement of his coreligionists. Elijah Wilna (born 1720; 
died 1797), whose name, with the title of “Gaon,” is still 
mentioned by the Lithuanian Jews with reverence and love, 
was a rare exception among the mass of the Polish Jews. 
He was of the purest character and possessed high talents, 
which he did not put to perverted uses. .. . 

He beheld in the Chassidic aberration a continuation of 
Frank’s excesses and corrupting influence. The otherwise 
gentle and meek man became a veritable fanatic. The Rabbis 
and chiefs of the community, together with Elijah Wilna, 
addressed a letter to all the large communities, directing them 
to keep a sharp eye upon the Chassidim, and to excommuni- 
cate them until they abandoned their erroneous views. Sev- 
eral congregations immediately obeyed this injunction. In 
Brody, during the fair, in the presence of many strangers, 
the ban was published against all those who prayed noisily, 


TRADITION AND LIFE 243 


deviated from the German synagogue ritual, wore white robes 
on Sabbath and the festivals, and were guilty of other 
strange customs and innovations. Elijah Wilna’s circle 
launched a vigorous denunciatory pamphlet against the of- 
fenders. This was the first blow that the Chassidim expe- 
rienced.  (Graetz. ) 


5. The New Spirit 
THE NEW SPIRIT IN THEOLOGY 


I recognize among the eternal truths only those which can 
be not merely conceived but proved and established by hu- 
man reason. It is a false estimation of Judaism which would 
assume that in order to reach this conclusion I must set 
myself at variance with the religion of my fathers; indeed, 
I would rather believe that this is the essential characteristic 
of Judaism, and that this characteristic separates it from 
Christianity. In brief: as I see it, the Jews know nothing 
of revealed religion but only of a revealed law. They have 
laws, commands, precepts, injunctions, instructions in keep- 
ing with the Divine Will, which teach them how to conduct 
themselves if they wish to achieve happiness in this world 
and in the world to come, but there are no dogmas, no arti- 
cles of faith, no fundamental doctrines. . . . More, the He- 
brew word which it is customary to render by the word 
“faith” actually means, more often, “confidence” or “trust,” 
a calm belief in the fulfilment of promises made: “Abraham 
trusted in the Lord” [Gen. 15: 6]; “The Children of Israel 
saw and trusted in the Eternal and in Moses, his servant.” 
[Ex. 14: 31]... . In no place do we find it said: “Believe, 
Israel, and it will be well with thee: doubt not, and thou 
shalt not be punished.” (Moses Mendelssohn, Jerusalem.) 


244 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


THE BIBLE IN THE VULGAR TONGUE 


When God blessed me with sons, and the time came to 
instruct them in the Torah and to bring them near to the 
word of God, I undertook, first for my own children, to trans- 
late the Pentateuch, the Five Books of Moses, into pure and 
correct German, as it is spoken to-day. I made the transla- 
tion literal, word for word, side by side with the text, accord- 
ing to the general context, so that they might not only un- 
derstand the original, but that they might imbibe the deli- 
cacy of the spirit, the fine shades, until they could of them- 
selves enjoy the original. By the will of God, there came to 
my acquaintance the learned Solomon von Dubnow to whom 
I entrusted the only son left me (God strengthen him in 
learning and in reverence) that he might take daily lessons 
from him in Hebrew. When this Rabbi learned of my trans- 
lation, it found grace in his eyes, and he thought well of it. 
He urged me to publish it for the benefit of students. .. . 
I gave my consent. (Moses Mendelssohn, Preface to the 
German Translation of the Pentateuch.) 


THE TEACHING OF THE SECULAR SCIENCES 


Though I do not consider a knowledge of the natural and 
secular sciences indispensable, yet I consider them useful to 
the plain man, the more so to those who are learned in the 
sacred lore—and that for four reasons. 

First, the study of the natural sciences on the part of the 
pure-minded cannot but add to the fear of God and His 
glory, for these sciences open the mind of man, make him 
understand the greatness of God and His power, and reveal 
the infinite ways of His compassion and His control of all 
things; such is the science of the heavenly bodies, which 
teaches us concerning the celestial lights. . . . 

Secondly, many of the sciences are related to the laws of 
the Torah, as, for example, the science of seasons, on which 


TRADITION AND LIFE 245 


depend the blessings of the new months, the determination 
of the festivals and the length of the years. 

Thirdly, these sciences are an ornament in themselves; he 
that possesses them, and can transmit them to others, is hon- 
oured among the honourable. .. . 

And lastly it must be understood that the days in which 
we live are not like the days of the past. Our forefathers 
lived on their own soil, and possessed their heritage of vine- 
yards and fields, which we have not in our exile, F or, in this 
exile, the glory of Israel has been diminished, and we must 
therefore lay strong hold on whatsoever can provide us 
with an honourable livelihood, for fear that we may be re- 
duced to beg from others; and in that we shall not fall under 
the burden of misery, which leads to the abandonment of 
the Torah and of the divine commandments. (Hartwig Wes- 
sely, Words of Peace and Truth, Ch. VIII and XIT.) 


THE NEW SPIRIT OF SOCIETY 


It is remarkable to note how this prejudice [against the 
Jews] takes on the image of the various centuries, for our op- 
pression. . . . In times past we were accused of sacrilege 
against the things they held holy. . . . But now the times have 
changed, and accusations of this nature would no longer pro- 
duce the desired impression. And now they turn round and 
accuse us precisely of superstition and folly, of a lack of 
moral sentiment, lack of taste and good manners, lack of 
aptitude for the arts, science and useful trades, and particu- 
larly lack of service in war and for the state, an unconquer- 
able weakness for treachery, swindling and lawlessness, and 
these accusations now take the place of the grosser accusa- 
tions of former times, in order that we may cease to be reck- 
oned among useful citizens and may be denied the benefits 
of the State. Of old they exerted every effort, not to make 
good citizens of us, but to convert us to Christianity, and 
since we were too obstinate and stiff-necked to permit this, 


246 THE RABBINIC EPOCH 


they regarded us simply as useless encumberers of the earth, 
and to the outcasts they attributed all the ugly qualities which 
hate and contempt could suggest. But the zeal of conversion 
has disappeared. We are completely neglected. The effort is 
made to keep us remote from the acquisition of all arts, 
sciences and useful occupations; they block the road of use- 
ful improvement, and then punish us because we lack what 
they prevent us from acquiring. They bind our hands, and 
then reproach us with doing nothing. (Mendelssohn, Preface 
to Menasseh Ben Israel’s Salvation of the Jews.) 


THE NEW SPIRIT IN THE COMMUNITY 


I am confident that the more enlightened and pious of our 
Rabbis and elders will gladly relinquish so dangerous a privi- 
lege, will give up their complete control of all synagoga! 
and religious ceremonies, and show the same love and _toler- 
ance toward their brothers as they themselves have sighed 
for. Oh, my brothers, too keenly have you felt the bitter 
yoke of intolerance, and perhaps you have found some com- 
pensation in exerting against those who were within your 
jurisdiction the pressure which you suffered from. Vengeance 
always seeks satisfaction, and when it can find nothing else 
to feed upon, it will feed upon itself. Perhaps the general 
example misleads you. All the nations of the world seem 
to have been afflicted with this madness, believing that re- 
ligion can only be established by a rule of iron, that the 
teaching of salvation can be spread only by persecution, and 
that God, who is love, can be brought to mankind by hate. 
You have perhaps let yourselves be led astray, and this belief 
in might, which you have imbibed from others, is perhaps 
the greatest evil you have suffered at the hands of your per- 
secutors. Give thanks to God, the God of your fathers, who 
is love itself, that this madness is disappearing step by step. 
The nations are learning to bear with one another, and are 
beginning to show signs of love and mercy toward you too, 


TRADITION AND LIFE 247 


which in time may fill the hearts of men with true brotherly 
affection, Oh, my brothers, follow the example of love, as 
you have till now followed the example of hate. Imitate the 
virtues of the nations, whose vices you have till now thought 
it your duty to imitate. Would you be respected, tolerated 
and spared by others, then show respect and tolerance among 
yourselves. Love, and you will be loved. (Moses Mendels- 
sohn, Preface to Salvation of the Jews.) 


a, 
CP C a 
cin es paty 





THE MODERN EPOCH 


+7, 
or 
a VE 


We 





A.D. 


1791. 


17906. 
1807. 


1826. 


1835. 
1840. 
1848. 
1849. 
1858. 


1863. 
1866. 


1868. 
1870. 


1871. 
1878. 


The Modern Epoch 


CHRONOLOGY 


The National Assembly votes, and Louis XVI ratifies, 
the complete emancipation of the Jews of France. 
Emancipation of the Jews of Holland. 
The Great Sanhedrin, convoked by Napoleon I, de- 
fines the status of the Jews in the modern state. 
Emancipation of the Jews of Maryland. Ukase issued 
in Russia calling for the levy and seizure of young 
Jewish children to be separated from their families and 
brought up in the Christian faith and in the military 
service. 
Edict of Nicholas I, founding the first Jewish agri- 
cultural colonies of Russia. 
Ritual murder accusation in Damascus. Denial in a 
firman of the Sultan. { 
Emancipation of the Jews of the various States of Cen- 
tral Europe. 
Lionel Rothschild elected to the British House of Com- 
mons. 
Edgar Mortara, baptized without his parents’ knowledge 
by a Catholic servant, is torn from his family by the 
Bishop of Ancona, his family claiming him in vain from 
the Pope. 
Emancipation of the Jews of Switzerland. 
The Roumanian constitution reduces native-born Jews 
to the status of aliens. 
The Mortara affair leads to the founding of the Alli- 
ance Israélite Universelle. 
Charles Netter and the Alliance Israélite found in Pales- 
tine the first of the Jewish colonies which Baron Ed- 
mond de Rothschild develops in later years. 
The Anglo-Jewish Association founded. 
Roumania concedes, at the Congress of Berlin, the 
principle of civil equality for the Jews. 

ant 


252 
1881. 


1883. 
1885. 
1886. 
1887-1902. 


1892. 


1895. 


1897. 


1903. 
1906. 
IQII-13. 


1914-18. 


IQI7. 


1918-21. 


THE MODERN EPOCH 


First anti-Jewish atrocities in southern Russia. First 
campaigns of the League of Anti-Semites, Germany. 
The Russian Choveve-Zion (Lovers of Zion) send agri- 
cultural colonists to Palestine. 

A conference of American Rabbis, at Pittsburgh, estab- 
lishes the principles of Reform Judaism. 

Edouard Drumont publishes La France Juive. 
Roumanian laws exclude the Jews from public service, 
limit the number of Jewish factories, the employment of 
Jewish workers, etc. 

Baron Hirsch founds the ICA (Jewish Colonization 
Association), the aim of which is to found Jewish agri- 
cultural colonies in South America. 

Captain Dreyfus condemned at Paris for treason on the 
strength of evidence which was not submitted to the 
defence. During the years following, the revision of the 
case splits France into two parties and engages the 
passionate attention of the whole world. 

Theodor Herzl presides at the first Zionist Congress, 
Basle, Switzerland. 

Pogrom at Kishineff. 

Rehabilitation of Captain Dreyfus. 

Mendel Beilis accused of ritual murder in Kiev. The 
trial, which ends with his acquittal, rouses Russia to the 
same degree as the Dreyfus trial roused France. 

Jews take an active part in the Great War in all armies. 
On the eastern front the Zionists James Rothschild and 
Vladimir Jabotinsky form several regiments of Jewish 
volunteers who participate in the conquest of Palestine 
by British troops. 

End of Czarism. Emancipation of the Jews of Russia 
by the Provisional Government of Prince Lvov. The 
two Zionist leaders Sokolow and Weizmann obtain the 
Balfour Declaration, which announces to Lord Roths- 
child the agreement of the Great Powers to the foun- 
dation of a national home in Palestine for the Jewish 
people. Capture of Jerusalem by the British. 
German Revolution. Assassination of Kurt Eisner, 
President of the Bavarian Republic. Bolshevik revolu- 
tion. Notorious Jews support Bolshevism (Trotzky, 
Kameneff, Zinoviev, etc.) Other Jews, no less promi- 
nent, attack Bolshevism (Hessen, Vinaver, Grusenberg, 


1919. 


1920-21, 
1922. 


1925. 


THE MODERN EPOCH 253 


Gotz, Vichniak, Kautsky, Gompers, etc.), but anti- 
Semitic propaganda everywhere identifies Bolshevism 
with Judaism. Recrudescence of anti-Semitism through- 
out the entire world in the wake of the upheavals fol- 
lowing the Great War. The false “Protocols of the 
Elders of Zion.” Pogroms in Galicia, in Poland, and in 
the Ukraine. 

Peace of Versailles. Jewish minority rights recognized 
in Eastern Europe. Emancipation of the Jews of Rou- 
mania. 

Anti-Zionist disturbances in Palestine. 

The Council of the League of Nations ratifies the Man- 
date over Palestine, given to England and calling for 
the establishment of the Jewish National Home. 

First Hebrew University opened by Lord Balfour on 
Mount Scopus, Jerusalem. 





Chapter I 
HISTORY 
THE GREAT SANHEDRIN (1807). DOCTRINAL DECISIONS 


BLESSED for ever be the name of the Lord, God of Israel, 
who has placed upon the thrones of France and of the King- 
dom of Italy a prince after His heart. God has seen the humil- 
lation of the descendants of Jacob of old, and He has chosen 
Napoleon the Great as the instrument of His compassion. 
The Lord judges the thoughts of men, and He alone commands 
their conscience, and His anointed one permits all men to 
worship Him according to their belief and faith. Under the 
shadow of his name security has come into our hearts and 
our dwellings and from this time on we are permitted to 
build, to sow, to reap, to cultivate all human knowledge, to 
be one with the great family of the State, to serve him and 
to be glorified in his lofty destiny. His high wisdom permits 
this assembly, which shall be illustrious in our annals, and 
the wisdom and virtue of which shall dictate decisions, to 
reconvene after the lapse of fifteen centuries, and to con- 
tribute to the welfare of Israel. Gathered this day under his 
mighty protection, in the good city of Paris, we, learned men 
and leaders in Israel, to the number of seventy-one, constitute 
ourselves the Great Sanhedrin to the end that we may find the 
means and the strength to promulgate religious decrees which 
shall conform to the principles of our sacred laws and which 
shall serve as a standard to all Israelites. These decrees shall 
teach the nations that our dogmas are in keeping with the 
civil laws under which we live, and that we are in no wise 
separated from the society of men. 

We therefore declare that the Divine Law, the precious 


heritage of our ancestors, contains within itself dispositions 
255 


256 THE MODERN EPOCH 


which are political and dispositions which are religious: that 
the religious dispositions are, by their nature, absolute and 
independent of circumstances and of the age; that this does 
not hold true of the political dispositions, that is to say, of 
the dispositions which were taken for the government of the 
people of Israel in Palestine when it possessed its own Kings, 
Pontiffs and Magistrates; that these political dispositions are 
no longer applicable, since Israel no longer forms a nation; 
that in consecrating a distinction which has already been es- 
tablished by tradition, the Great Sanhedrin lays down an in- 
contestible truth; that an assembly of Doctors of the Law, 
convened as a Great Sanhedrin, is alone competent to deter- 
mine the results of this distinction: that, if the Sanhedrin of 
old did not establish this distinction, it is because the political 
situation did not at that time call for it, and that, since the 
dispersion of Israel, no Sanhedrin has ever been assembled 
until the present one. 

Engaged in this holy enterprise, we invoke the Divine light, 
from which all good emanates, and we feel ourselves called 
upon to contribute, as far as in our power lies, to the com- 
pletion of the moral regeneration of Israel. Thus, by virtue 
of the right vested in us by our ancient usage and by our 
sacred laws, which have determined that the assembly of the 
learned of the age shall possess the inalienable right to legis- 
late according to the needs of the situation, and which impose 
upon Israel the observance of these laws—be they written or 
contained in tradition—we hereby religiously enjoin on all 
obedience to the State in all matters civil and political. 
(Quoted by Halphen, Recueil des lois concernant les Israé- 
lites.) 


THE ALLIANCE ISRAELITE UNIVERSELLE 


A group of seventeen young men elected six from among 
themselves, Aristide Astruc, Isidore Cahen, Jules Carvallo, 
Narcisse Leven, Eugéne Manuel and Charles Netter, to found 


a 


HISTORY 257 


the society, work out its statutes and make an appeal to the 
Jews. These statutes, together with explanatory notes and 
the appeal, were published in May, 1860. He who would 
understand the state of mind, the preoccupations and the views 
of the founders of the Alliance must read these documents. 
These men had, besides the ardour of their youth, a profound 
love of Judaism and faith in its destiny. They considered the 
defence of its honour and its doctrines a sacred duty. They 
themselves were in freedom, but they had learned from their 
fathers of the miseries of the past. These stories of the past 
had touched them deeply; they themselves were not far re- 
moved from the days of the Damascus affair: and Mortara 
was still an actuality. 

And even in France, seventy years after the Revolution, 
there were still prejudices against the Jew, breaking out in 
the theatre, in the novel, in the literary world and in parts 
of French society. These prejudices might be treated with 
contempt, but they were being exploited for the perpetuation 
of arbitrary government and of superannuated laws against 
the Jews. Here, indeed, the Jews could defend themselves, 
but what caused the gravest concern to the founders of the 
Alliance was the physical and moral degeneration of the 
Jews, and the pauperism of the masses. Those who lived in 
free countries, or were moving into free countries, constituted 
the fewest in number. An accident of history had relegated 
the masses to Oriental countries that were least accessible to 
civilization. Without help from the outside they could not 
hope for improvement; and whence was this help to come? 
How should it be given? This was a question both social 
and political in its nature; the founders of the Alliance en- 
visaged it in all its far-flung implications, in all its complexity. 
It did not permit of immediate solution. It could be reached 
only through study, through experience, through indefatigable 
activity, and through the co-operation of the forces of civili- 
zation. 

It was an immense undertaking, but it was not too great 


258 THE MODERN EPOCH 


for the courage of the men who entertained it. They were 
sustained by an unshakable faith in their ultimate success. 
Working for the welfare of Israel, they believed that all Israel 
was with them. The appeal spoke of a union of all the Jews 
of the world. Scattered throughout all the peoples, they had 
finally lost contact with one another. What did the Jews 
of France and England know about the Jews of the Orient, 
what did even the German Jews know about the Jews of 
Russia? When catastrophe occurred, their appeal was heard, 
help was forthcoming, but there was nothing more than a 
fleeting contact. The occasion over, the isolation of the vari- 
ous countries returned, and this was the source of their weak- 
ness. In union lay their salvation. The appeal, after out- 
lining in general terms the programme of the Alliance, went 
on: “If you believe that it will mean honour to our religion, 
a lesson to the peoples of the world, the progress of humanity, 
a triumph for truth and for universal reason, to have all the 
living forces of Judaism united, small in volume but mighty 
in love and in goodwill, then come to us; we are founding the 
Alliance Israelite Universelle.” (N. Leven, Cinquant ans 
ad’histoire.) — 


THE JEWS IN AMERICA 


To-day, more than three million of Jews live in the United 
States. One million and a half—one quarter of its entire 
population—live in the city of New York. 

The kinship of the Puritan and Jew, as they appear on 
the American scene, is close. ‘There was no fortuity in the 
New Englander’s obsession with the Hebrew texts, in his quite 
conscious taking on of the rdle of Israel in a hostile world. 
Like the Jew, the Puritan was obsessed with the dream of 
power: elected a career of separatism from the world in order 
to attain it: took to himself a personal and exacting God in 
order to justify it: traversed the seas in order to effect it. 
And as with the Puritan, so with the Jew, once free in a vast 





HISTORY 259 


country, the urge of power swiftly shook off its religious and 
pietistic way, and drove untrammelled to material aggression. 
In their intense and isolated will, the Puritan and Jew were 
kin. Also, in their function as American pioneers. But one 
must not press the relationship too far. As occurs so often 
upon the theatre of the world, channels of energy, though 
flung from widely different sources and tending to diverse 
points, for a season flowed together and fertilized one field. 
No more. sy)... 

After all, a majority of Jews doubtless deemed Moses a 
scatterbrain and preferred Egypt: declined Cyrus’ invitation 
to shake off the prestige and comforts of the Babylonian cap- 
tivity. A majority of Jews, like a majority of other men 
and women, respond rather passively and simply to the ex- 
ternal impulse of the world they live in. Certainly, a majority 
of Jews have done just that in the United States. 

They came to America—mostly after 1880—with their 
sharpened wits and will-to-power, and America welcomed them 
and put these qualities to work. They came to America also 
with their love of God, but for such seed America was less 
fertile. | 

The Jew simply was caught up in the continental rhythm. 
He became a pioneer: in many ways, as we have seen, he was 
a Puritan already. He joined hands in the keen task of de- 
veloping America. The power of wealth, the sanctity of 
money, were no secret to him. The sweets in the denial of 
sensuous indulgence when such indulgence was impossible or 
meant defeat, were no secret to him. The channelling of his 
mind upon the problems of practical dominion was an old 
channel to the Jew. Enormous incentives, these, in the Amer- 
ican lands. He also poured outward: he also became spiritu- 
ally poor: he also stripped for action. When the mystical 
Jew dies, the Jew is dead. ... 

In the American chaos the Jew went under. We shall see 
how, in the American birth, he rises up. (Waldo Frank, Our 
America.) 


260 THE MODERN EPOCH 


THE FIRST ZIONIST CONGRESS (1897) 


Writers, journalists, poets, novelists, merchants, professors, 
men of all conditions and professions, from the mightiest of 
millionaires, arriving in sleeping-cars, to the poverty-stricken 
Russian student who had come on foot from the Swiss or 
German university—and down to the peasants and mountain- 
eers who had come by stages from Bukovina, or Bessarabia, or 
the Caucasus, at the expense of the village committee... . 

“A strange fantasmagoria of faces. A small, sallow Pole, 
with high cheek-bones; a blond Hungarian, with a flaxen 
moustache; a brown, hatchet-faced Roumanian; a fresh-col- 
oured Frenchman, with eyeglasses; a dark, marrano-descended 
Dutchman; a chubby German; a fiery Russian, tugging at 
his own hair with excitement, perhaps in prescience of the 
prison awaiting his return; a dusky Egyptian, with the close- 
cropped, curly black hair, and all but the nose of a negro; 
a yellow-bearded Swede; a courtly Viennese lawyer; a German 
student, with proud duel-slashes across his cheek; a Viennese 
student, first fighter in the University, with a coloured band 
across his shirt-front; a dandy, redolent of the best Peters- 
burg circles; and one solitary caftan-Jew, with ear-locks and 
skull-cap, wafting into the nineteenth century the Kabbalistic 
mysticism of the Carpathian mountains.” 

Who speaks of the Jewish type? One can only say nega- 
tively that they are not Christians. Is it the stamp of a 
longer, more complex heredity? Is it the brand of suffering? 
Whatever it be, all these men whom Herzl has managed to 
convince of the futility of their efforts to “accommodate their 
skins and their Jewish imitations” to the colour and movement 
of their surroundings, and to whom he gave back again their 
native pride—all of them know henceforth that they have 
something in common: the sense of their unity and the cer- 
tainty that they are collaborating in what is perhaps the most 
important Jewish movement since the days of Hadrian, when 
Bar Kochba attempted to wrest from the hands of Rome the 


HISTORY 261 


independence of Palestine. (André Spire; quotation from 
Zangwill.) 


THE VINDICATION OF DREYFUS (1906) 


When he had asked that the ceremony should not be held 
in the large courtyard of the Ecole Militaire, Dreyfus had 
desired to avoid the too vivid recollection of the agony he 
had suffered there. But the somewhat similar shape of the 
courtyard where the ceremony actually took place, the move- 
ment of troops and regiments of artillery, the pealing of 
bugles, the clashing of arms, and the very effort which he 
made to overcome the ghastly memory, brought back the 
scene before him. Never, not even during those sleepless 
nights on Devil’s Island, had the hallucination been so intense. 
His heart beat as if it would burst. He passed again through 
the agony of his martyrdom, down to the minutest details. 
He could not see the regiments which were assembled in his 
honour. He could see only those regiments which had been 
assembled to witness his degradation. And he hears, unceas- 
ingly, the wild cry of the mob: “Kill him!” Brigadier-General 
Gillain, commanding the first cavalry division, arrives in 
parade uniform. He passes before his troops, takes up his 
position in the centre of the courtyard, and draws his sword. 
Colonel Gaillard calls: “Officers of the Legion!” Dreyfus and 
Targe come forward, and stand before the general. “Open the 
Sentence!” Four trumpet-peals. In the midst of a vast 
Silence the voice of the general is heard, clear and strong, 
calling the names of the two officers. He decorates Targe first. 
At the back of the courtyard voices are heard: “Vive la 
République!” 

The old general steps up to Dreyfus. “In the name of the 
President of the Republic, and by virtue of the authority 
vested in me, Major Dreyfus, I proclaim you Chevalier of 
the Legion of Honour?’ The general’s sword falls three times 
upon his shoulder. He pins the cross on the black dolman, 


262 THE MODERN EPOCH 


and kisses on both cheeks the man of Devil’s Island. “You 
once served in my division,” he says. “I am happy to have 
been entrusted with the mission which I have just discharged.” 
The trumpets sound to close the sentence. All eyes are 
turned to two windows. At one of them Lucy Dreyfus is 
seen, weeping, and at the other is seen the slender silhouette 
of General Picquart. There are cries: “Vive Picquart!” 
Picquart replies, ‘No, no, Dreyfus!”? And many voices are 
raised: “Vive ’armée! Vive la République! Vive la vérité!” 
The general speaks with Dreyfus, while the bodies of in- 
fantry and artillery, in successive evolutions, are massed at 
the back of the courtyard. The command rings out: “Com- 
pany column! Forward march!” The troops pass out amid 
the blowing of bugles. When the last soldier has disappeared 
under the arch, the general shakes Dreyfus by the hand again. 
The spectators press toward him. The cries are raised again: 
“Vive Dreyfus!” ...In a choked voice, Dreyfus pleads: 
“No, no, gentlemen, please . . .” He cannot go any further; 
only his lips move. Then a young man, breaking through the 
crowd, throws himself in the arms of Major Dreyfus: “Father! 
Father!” ... Every one turns away. Dreyfus weeps. 
(Joseph Reinach, History of the Dreyfus Case, VI, 502.) 


EMANCIPATION OF RUSSIAN JEWS BY THE PROVISIONAL GOV- 
ERNMENT OF PRINCE LVOV (MARCH 21—APRIL 3, 1917) 


Three days ago we were still slaves. To-day, by the sov- 
ereign will of the people in revolution, we are citizens... . 
Comrades, if before the Revolution the Russian state was 
merely an immense prison, comprising only prisoners and 
gaolers, the most horrible cell it contained, the torture-cham- 
ber, was reserved for us, the Jewish people, with our six mil- 
lion souls. From earliest childhood when, eager to learn, we 
knocked at the doors of the State school, we found them her- 
metically sealed; and in reply to that first child’s cry there 
came the brutal: “Begone! The school is not for you!” Like 


ee 


HISTORY 263 


galley-slaves we were all chained to a single bench, isolated in 
a common contempt. If individual Jews were guilty of mis- 
behaviour, the Jewish people as a whole was held responsible. 
Nevertheless, we have always loved, with an unhappy and 
helpless love, with a complete and undivided love, our great 
fatherland. Why? Because of the restless soul of the Rus- 
sian people, because of its eternal striving, because of its sleep- 
less hungering after truth, because of the imperishable spirit 
of love in its masses. The Russian dream, Russian books, 
Russian friends, eager to suffer for the universal good—these 
had filled our hearts, these had bound us in indissoluble bonds 
of love to the immense Russian homeland. Pogroms have 
neither embittered us nor isolated us; we believed, we wanted 
to believe, that every blow which fell upon us was as bitterly 
felt by you. . . . But the lackeys of Czarism would not dis- 
arm. At the call for the defence of its native soil, the entire 
nation rose, under a universal impulse of sacrifice, shoulder 
to shoulder with us, with our sons and brothers—the govern- 
ment of the Czar replied with new accusations of treason, 
in order to cover its own incompetence and even its treachery. 
Shelterless, pauperized, despised, the Jewish people stood in 
impotence before the ruins of their homes, and sought an 
explanation for these calumnies. And the Russian people has 
given us its reply in the act of March 21st, which gives us 
equality of rights. Comrades, blessed be our common war- 
riors and martyrs, blessed be our common agonies, our com- 
mon humiliations; they have tempered our spirit and made 
it invincible. We shall surrender our sacred victory, our 
common liberty, to no one, to no one. Let us stand guard 
over it in an iron ring. He that has once been freed shall 
never again be enslaved. (Address by Senator M. O. Grusen- 
berg before the Council of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Delegates; 
Univers Israélite, LX XII, 35.) 


264 - THE MODERN EPOCH 


THE BALFOUR DECLARATION 


Letter addressed by Arthur James Balfour, Minister for 
Foreign Affairs, to Lord Rothschild, Vice-President of the 
Zionist Federation of England, under date of November 2, 
IQI7: 

His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establish- 
ment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish people, 
and will use their best endeavour to facilitate the achievement 
of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall 
be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights. of 
existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and 
political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country. (From 
Sokolow’s History of Zionism.) 


THE JEWS IN MODERN LIFE 


His gift of tongues, his relationship with all the lands of the 
exile, mark him out for this function in its various aspects of 
commerce and finance, journalism and criticism, scholarship 
and travel, connoisseurship and art-dealing. It was by their 
linguistic talents that the adventurous journeys of Arminius 
Vambéry, Aurel Stein, Sven Hedin and Emin Pasha were 
made possible. If a Russian-American Jew, Berenson, is the 
chief authority on Italian art, and Georg Brandes, the Dane, 
is Europe’s greatest critic, if Reuter initiated telegraphic news 
and Blowitz was the prince of foreign correspondents, if 
Charles Frohman was the world’s greatest entrepreneur and 
Imré Kiralfy ran its exhibitions, all these phenomena find 
their explanation in the cosmopolitanism of the Jewish intel- 
ligentsia. For when the Jew grows out of his own Ghetto 
without narrowing into his neighbour’s, he must necessarily 
possess a superior sense of perspective. Lifted to the plane 
of idealism, this cosmopolitan habit of mind creates Socialism 
through Karl Marx and Lassalle, an international language 
through Dr. Zamenhof, the inventor of Esperanto, a prophecy 


HISTORY 265 


of the end of the war through Jean de Bloch, an International 
Institute of Agriculture through David Lubin, and a Race 
Congress through Dr. Felix Adler... . 

Jews have indeed—even to the unjaundiced eye—been play- 
ing no inconsiderable part in world affairs, whether we look 
to the financiers, the Rothschilds, Cassels, Schiffs, Speyers and 
Barnatos, or to the journalists (Maximilian Harden, Benedikt, 
“Pertinax,” Sir Sidney Low, Lord Burnham, etc.), or to the 
politicians (Lord Reading, Edwin Montagu, Klotz, Kurt Eisner, 
Trotsky, Luzzatto, etc.), but, with the exception of Schiff, 
who refused to finance the Russia of the Czar, can any one 
trace in their activities even as much subconscious Jewish 
sympathy as influenced Beaconsfield? Can any one imagine 
Clemenceau’s Jewish secretary, Mandel, jogging his master’s 
elbow at the Peace Conference in favour of a Hebrew Pales- 
tine? As little as one can imagine Sir John Monash marching 
to Jerusalem—unless ordered by Foch—or the great Jewish 
chess-champions sacrificing their bishops in some obscure anti- 
Christian spasm. 

It is in fact in the impersonal and international spheres of 
science, philosophy and scholarship that the race of Spinoza 
has won its greatest triumphs since it emerged from the Ghetto. 
Here the record is overwhelming. At least five of the Nobel 
prizes for Science have already been awarded to Jews: Albert 
Michelson (optics), Gabriel Lippmann (colour-photography), 
Henri Moissan (chemistry), Dr. Barony (otology), Wilstatter 
(chlorophyll). Ina race that for eighteen centuries has been 
bent over its books, parasitic on the past, this genius for ob- 
servation is staggering, till one recalls Leviticus and the prac- 
tical priestly supplement to the prophetic ethics. Among 
many other outstanding contributors to Science may be men- 
tioned Heinrich Hertz (electro-magnetic waves, wireless teleg- 
raphy), Meldola (coal-tar dyes), Hertha Ayrton (electric arc), 
J. F. Cohn (bacteriology), Jacques Loeb (parthenogenesis), 
Mendeleeff (the periodic law), Lombroso (criminology), Freud 
and Jung (psychology), Einstein (physics, new theory of 


266 THE MODERN EPOCH 


space). It is no wonder that the Presidency of our Royal 
Society has fallen to a Jew. 

As a physician the Jew’s fame dates from Saracenic Spain, 
when he was the bearer of Arabian science, and the tradition 
that kings shall always have Jewish physicians is still un- 
broken. Dr. Ehrlich’s recent discovery of “606,” the cure 
for syphilis, Dr. Haffkine’s inoculation against the plague in 
India, and the researches of Dr. Simon Flexner, of the Rocke- 
feller Institute, are but links in the long chain of Jewish con- 
tributions to the peculiarly international sphere of medicine; 
while Max Nordau, an epitome of every Jewish talent, is also, 
like Maimonides and so many other Jewish thinkers, a prac- 
tising physician. 

Nor are the contributions to the more humanistic sciences 
less amazing. The names of Benfey (Sanscrit), Jules Oppert 
(Assyriology), Sylvester and Georg Cantor (mathematics), 
Bréal (semantics), Salomon Reinach (universal scholarship), 
Asser (juristics), Hermann Cohen and Bergson (philosophy ) 
may suffice as examples. 

If the legend of the Conquering Jew meant his emergence 
from “that curious system of degrading customs and debasing 
laws,’’ not merely not broken-hearted but able to pour forth 
streams of courageous vitality on every field of life and 
thought, “a blessing to all the families of the earth,” then the 
legend would be true indeed. (Israel Zangwill, The Voice of 
Jerusalem.) 





Chapter II 
CRITICISM OF JUDAISM 


1. Historical Criticism 
THE NEED OF A JEWISH SCIENCE 


But precisely because the Jews of our time—to mention only 
the Jews of Germany—have taken with the utmost seriousness 
to the German language and to German culture, so that—even 
while such is not perhaps the intent—the new Hebrew litera- 
ture is threatened with extinction, precisely for this reason this 
Science arose to create the record of the past. At this par- 
ticular time, when it is unlikely that any event of high im- 
portance will arise to upset our estimates, when the means 
for study are considerably greater than they were for the 
scholars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and when 
Hebrew books are more easily obtainable than they are likely 
to be in the year 19109, at this particular time, we believe, 
we have the special duty to cultivate this science on a large 
scale, the more so as it appears that its material will enable 
us to furnish replies to the complicated questions concerning 
the fate of the Jews with which we are faced. Laws which 
are created and applied from without will never suffice to 
answer these problems, unless there has been an intimate study 
of the nature of the instrument and how it is to be used. To 
know the modern Jew theoretically, to know him juridically, 
theologically, economically, is to know him in a one-sided 
fashion; to know the Jews thoroughly, to enter into their spirit, 
there must be a study of their customs and their will. Every 
thoughtless amelioration, so-called, later exacts its price: too 


hasty innovation results in the overaccentuation of the value 
267 


268 THE MODERN EPOCH 


of the old, and, much worse, of the outlived. In order to 
know which of the old is still valid, which of the outlived is 
to be rejected, which of the new is to be adopted, we must 
betake ourselves to the study of the people, both in its political 
and its moral sense. And herein we touch on one of the great 
misfortunes, namely, that the Jews have been treated like their 
literature: both have aroused the most violent passions, and 
both have been either greatly undervalued or greatly over- 
estimated. (Leopold Zunz, Introduction to Complete Works.) 


JEWISH SECTS 


There are three aspects under which the struggle between 
faith and science become manifest: in two of them there is 
an effort to subordinate the one to the other. Either faith is 
forcibly fitted into the framework of a scientific system, or 
else science is subordinated to the system of faith; in these 
two there is less a reconciliation than a conquest of the one 
by the other. But in the third aspect we arrive at a complete 
synthesis between the two, in which there is no question of 
the subordination either of science or of faith. These three 
aspects are called, respectively, the rationalistic, the super- 
natural and the mystic, and they have emerged at all times 
under various forms, modified only by the peculiar spirit of 
the times and by the individuality of the protagonists. . . . 
In ancient Jewry these three aspects were represented by the 
Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes: such, however, was 
the condition of science at that time, and such the peculiar 
spirit of Jewry, that these three aspects are not easily recog- 
nized at first, and our parallel seems to be paradoxical and 
far-fetched. The one party insisted that the words of the 
Bible were to be read in accord with what the spirit of the 
times indicated: these were the Pharisees: the second party 
insisted that the words of the Bible should stand, and that 
the spirit of the times should be interpreted in their light; 
the third party, moved by a faith which rose above both these 


CRITICISM OF JUDAISM 269 


considerations as such, believed in the truth of the Scriptures 
and the spirit of the times, and united them both. These 
were the Essenes. . . . But Judaism was, above all things, a 
religion of practices, wherein there is room for a continuous 
evolution of the divine spirit in man, and the practices them- 
selves are but symbolic indications of spiritual truths; side by 
side with this ever-evolving symbolism there was the free 
word, of equal value in teaching the faith. That free word 
was the instrument, first of the prophets, later of the hag- 
gadists, then of the Darschanim, and now of the preachers. 
This double nature of the religion served to mitigate the bit- 
terness of the struggle between those who, like the Sadducees 
of old, seek to conserve the words at the expense of the times, 
and those who, like the Pharisees of old, are ready to read into 
the words whatever the spirit of the times may ask: and in 
thus mitigating the struggle, this double nature of the Jewish 
religions keeps both sides within the Jewish fold, as once it 
did the Pharisee and the Sadducee. Another result is that a 
barrier is put up against the reduction of the vivid force of 
Judaism into a sentimental regard for pietistic ritual and ob- 
servance, confounding passivity of the soul with religious ac- 
tivity. (Abraham Geiger, in the Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift 
fur judische Theologie.) 


AVICEBRON AND IBN GABIROL 


Foremost among the small number of Arab philosophers 
who are distinguished by the independence and originality 
of their doctrines, and who enjoyed a high reputation among 
Christian theologians of the thirteenth century, there was one 
known under the name of Avicebron, whose principal work, 
Fons Vite, seems to have exercised considerable influence 
in the Christian schools, and to have given rise to hetero- 
dox opinions sufficiently important to rouse the theologians 
to the use of all the arguments furnished by religious 
dogma and dalectic skill, The frequency with which the 


270 THE MODERN EPOCH 


Fons Vite is quoted, particularly in the works of Albertus 
Magnus and Thomas Aquinas, bears witness to the popularity 
of the book and to the sensation created by the doctrines which 
it develops. A learned Orientalist (Jourdain, in his Recherches 
sur les traductions d’Aristote, p. 137), who is equally con- 
versant with the Scholastic and Arab literatures, goes so far 
as to say that it is impossible to understand thoroughly the 
philosophy of the thirteenth century without an analysis of 
the Liber de Causis and the Fons Vite. . . . Who is this Arab 
philosopher hidden behind the corrupt name of Avicebron? 
To what country and to what age does he belong? If he 
wrote in Arabic, why do we find no trace of him in the numer- 
ous works of Averroés? A discovery which I made in the 
Imperial Library enabled me to answer these various ques- 
tions. In a Hebrew manuscript containing various treatises on 
philosophy, I came across a synopsis, by Shem-Tob-ibn- 
Falakera, a Jewish philosopher of the thirteenth century, of a 
treatise called Mekor Chayim (The Fount of Life), in which 
I recognized without difficulty the exact doctrines which are 
attributed to Avicebron. .. . The author of the treatise is 
Solomon ibn Gabirol, of the eleventh century, famous among 
the Jews as a religious poet and philosopher. He it is whom 
we must recognize under the corrupt name of Avicebron, for 
the documents which I publish leave not a single doubt as 
to the identity of the treatise of ibn Gabirol and the cele- 
brated Fons Vite. I already established this identity beyond 
all question in an article which I published in a German 
literary periodical. My article was addressed chiefly to M. 
Ritter, who, in his “History of Philosophy,” had found no 
place for the Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages, but who, 
without knowing it, had cited a Jewish philosopher as the most 
original thinker of the Arab period. (Solomon Munk, 
Meélanges de philosophie juive et arabe.) 


CRITICISM OF JUDAISM 271 


POLYTHEISM AND TABOO IN THE BIBLE 


The name Elohim is a plural form signifying gods. This 
suffices to show that the Jews were originally polytheists, de- 
spite the fact that it is claimed that the form represents the 
“majestic plural.’ Further, we find in Genesis that God 
seems to have said: “Let ws make man in our image?” (1: 26), 
and again (3:22): ‘Man has become like one of us.” It 
is altogether puerile to interpret this as an allusion to the 
Trinity 

The Taboo idea, common among primitive peoples, has left 
numerous traces in the Bible. The Tree of the Knowledge 
.of Good and Evil is taboo; God prohibits man to eat thereof 
without giving a reason, and the punishment for transgression 
is death. If Adam, after having transgressed the prohibition, 
does not die, it is because the Jehovist text is a compilation 
of other and older texts, one of which probably alluded to 
the sudden death of the first man. . . . Another taboo object 
is the Ark of the Covenant. It was a wooden coffer, perhaps 
containing fetiches, in which the Divine Force was said to 
reside. . . . The legislation and morality of the Pentateuch 
are again impregnated with taboo; it is interesting to watch 
the moral ideas rising clear from them and existing side by 
side with them. The Sabbath was originally a taboo day, 
1.e., maleficent; no one was to work on that day nor cause 
others to work, either servant or beast’ of burden, because 
they ran the risk of being wounded or of spoiling the work. 
But in the Bible this gross concept is already in course of 
transformation; the idea of a day of rest emerges, linked with 
the idea of good and of pity for the weariness of others. In 
the Decalogue, in the midst of interdictions, we find this 
affirmative precept: “Honour thy father and thy mother that 
thy days may be long.” (Exodus 20: 12.) This is the modi- 
fied and, as it were, inverted form of the taboo, which threatens 
with death: “If thou strike thy father or thy mother, thou 


ele THE MODERN EPOCH 


shalt die.” And thus the taboo became a moral command. 
(Solomon Reinach. Orpheus.) 


THE SOURCES OF MOSAIC LEGISLATION 


From of old, even before Moses had placed before the chil- 
dren of Israel the laws and the commandments, there were 
Jaws and decrees which had been handed down orally from 
generation to generation among the descendants of Jacob. 
According to the Torah, Abraham and his descendants were 
pre-eminent for their observation of laws founded on justice 
and equity. (Genesis 18, 19, 26:5.) These laws, the ful- 
filment of which was attributed to the house of Jacob, were 
virtuous customs obtaining among the children of this family. 
In addition, other customs and usages were implanted among 
them during their stay in Egypt, for it is impossible for two 
peoples to live side by side for centuries without exercising 
an influence on each other in the matter of customs and ways 
of life. All of these customs and habits, good or bad, which 
they had either inherited from their own ancestors or had ac- 
quired in Egypt, are among the elements on which the giver of 
the divine law based his laws and decrees. . . . These founda- 
tions are not to be found in the Scriptures; but there are in the 
Torah many laws and commandments which are incomprehen- 
sible without the assumption of still older laws and cus- 
toms .. .; this unwritten law will help us to understand the 
written law; and herein too lies the meaning of the oral law, 
the purpose of which is to explain, either with expansion or 
limitation, the written law. (Isaac Hirsch Weiss, History of 
Jewish Tradition, I, Ch. I.) 


THE MODERN SPIRIT AMONG THE PROPHETS 


Their spirit is to be found in the modern soul. It matters 
little that they spoke in the name of a god, Jehovah, and that 
the modern age speaks in the name of human thought: for 


ae 


CRITICISM OF JUDAISM 273 


their Jehovah was nothing more than the apotheosis of the 
human soul, the projection of their own conscience against 
the background of heaven. They loved everything that we 
love, and their ideal was reared at the expense neither of 
reason nor of conscience. They unveiled in heaven a god 
who seeks neither altars nor holocausts nor psalms, “but let 
righteousness run down like water and justice like a mighty 
stream.” They turned right into a power, and from the idea 
they fashioned a fact before which all facts were shaken; by 
sheer belief in justice, they made justice a factor in the march 
of history. They uttered the cry of pity for the unhappy, the 
cry of vengeance against the oppressor, the cry of peace and 
unity among the peoples. They did not say to man: “This 
world is not worth while.” They said: “The world is good: 
be thou good also, be just, be pure.’’? They said to the rich: 
“Thou shalt not hold back the labourer’s hire.” To the judge: 
“Thou shalt punish without humiliating.” To the sage: “Thou 
art responsible for the soul of thy people.” And they taught 
more than one how to live and how to die for righteousness 
and without the hope of the Elysian Fields. They taught the 
peoples that, without an ideal, “the future is nothingness,” 
that the ideal alone gives life, that this ideal is neither the 
glory of conquest, nor riches, nor power, but the/lifting up, 
like a light in the midst of the nations, of the example of 
better laws and a higher soul. And beyond the storms of 
the present, they projected upon the skies of the future the 
rainbow of a tremendous hope; the radiant vision of a better 
humanity, liberated from evil and from death; knowing neither 
war nor unjust judges; a time when the knowledge of God 
would fill the earth as the waters cover the sea; a time when 
mothers would no longer bear children destined to a sudden 
death. The visions of seers: to-day the visions of scholars. 

The prophetic spirit is in science, but unknown to itself 
and voiceless. That is why, in the interregnum of the Word, 
chaos reigns: for the spirit is not potent save through the 
magic of the Word which expresses it. In the beginning is 


274 THE MODERN EPOCH 


always the Word. And the spirit of these ancient prophets, 
being the oldest, is also the youngest, and the modern age has 
not yet found words of equal power, neither among its philos- 
ophers, nor among its moralists, nor among its poets, nor yet 
in its manuals of municipal morality: for those words concen- 
trated within themselves all the tyranny of the conscience and 
the ideal. (James Darmesteter, Les Prophétes en Israél.) 


2. Philosophic Criticism 
a. THE ERAS OF THE ETERNAL PEOPLE 


There are three periods through which, in the natural 
process of events, every ancient people must pass from the 
time it becomes a people until the time of its disappearance. 
First is the period of its birth and blossoming, then the period 
of its mature power, and lastly the period of its decay. It is 
thus with every nation which is the bearer of some finite and 
particular idea which is destined, by its nature, to ultimate 
disappearance. But as far as our nation is concerned, though 
it is true that we are, in what appertains to the material and 
to the perception of the senses, subject to the same law, there 
is something in our history indicated by that saying of the 
sages (their memory for a blessing): “Thou wert exiled to 
Babylon, and the Lord was with thee, thou were exiled to 
Elam, and the Lord was with thee.” That is to say, there 
is within us the infinite and universal Idea which saves us 
from the common fate of the ephemeral. Indeed, we have 
seen, in considering our history, how the three periods of a 
nation have been repeated twice and three times for us, and 
how, when the day of our decline had been reached, there 
was a rebirth of the spirit, so that, whenever we fell, we rose 
again, because the Lord had not abandoned us. (Nachman 
Krochmal, Guide to the Perplexed of Our Times.) 


CRITICISM OF JUDAISM 275 


b. JUDAISM AND KANTIANISM 


The finest distinction of Kant’s formula of the moral law 
is that it carries with it the absolute universality of the law: 
“Act so that you may desire that the law of your actions may 
become the law for all.” For in,all like cases, then, one and 
the same law shall serve as the standard of action. Similarly, 
it is the characteristic distinction of the most ancient Jewish 
legislation that one and the same law was laid down for all. 
Unlike the practice of the contemporary nations, the principle 
of absolute equality before the law was proclaimed among the 
Jews. Not alone the nations that were divided into casts pro- 
vided a code of law for each, but among all civilized peoples 
different standards prevailed for different estates and classes. 
Judaism, however, ordained equality before the law, alike for 
the members of the nation, for the native and—this was the 
crowning distinction—for the alien. With solemn appeal to 
the “Congregation!” it is enjoined that the principle, ‘one 
statute for all,’ shall endure forever in their generations, 
“one law and one code,” alike for the native and the stranger. 
(Num. 15:15, seg.; comp. also Lev. 24: 22, and other pas- 
sages.) . . . The traditional dicta range, on the one hand, 
from everybody’s thoughts, beliefs, and knowledge, which, be- 
ing the expression of the public spirit, were current as house- 
hold words, to the quotations, on the other hand, of some 
forgotten opinion, advanced by an individual, on a certain 
occasion, in a given circle, and perhaps regarded at the time 
as peculiar. There follows necessarily a scale of value, graded 
by history and to be graded in a systematic statement. The 
clue to a just estimate can be derived from a consideration of 
the proverbs of all nations. As they often contradict one 
another, so, even among races of the highest moral standard, 
they are apt to be harsh—not a strange circumstance in view 
of the fact that most of them originated in an early period 
of deficient moral development. Overrating of the useful, en- 
couragement of self-interest, painful reprisals, are common. 


276 THE MODERN EPOCH 


If, then, the moral character of a nation is to be judged by 
its proverbs, only the best of them may go to form the verdict, 
only such as may be considered the product of ethical growth. 
A paragraph must be devoted to the words wrung from the 
soul by the agony of persecution, by crying injustice, by sorrow 
and grief over violence and oppression. How often Simon Ben 
Yochai’s passionate outburst: “Kill even the best of the 
heathen!” has been cast up as a reproach! The critics forget 
that he had been bitterly persecuted by the Romans. He 
had been forced to spend thirteen joyless, inactive years in 
hiding in a cave, for the crime of having taught and read the 
Scriptures—nothing more. The Germans and the French of 
this century are nations of high ethical standing, yet the 
ebullitions of rage and revenge during the Napoleonic Wars 
and the War of 1870 make Ben Yochai’s cry of pain seem 
unimpassioned by comparison. Immoderate, despairing rage 
must be met understandingly, in the spirit of the Talmudic 
principle: “No one is responsible for words extorted by pain” 
(of persecution). They should not be glossed over nor ex- 
cused. As little may they be set down to the discredit of the 
nation or the speakers as their sober opinion. (Maurice Laz- 
arus, Ethics of Judaism, I, 130, 64-67.) 


C. KANT AND JEWISH RELIGION 


In its Biblical sources Judaism does not philosophize, but 
the logic of monotheism carries over from the Bible into later 
productions. As holiness becomes manifest through commands 
and rules of justice, so later the Holy Spirit approaches ever 
nearer to the spirit of morality, to moral reason. And the 
pre-eminence which it takes over all other attributes of the 
spirit hints at the thought which was expressed by Kant in his 
“Primat der praktischen Vernunft.” The Holy Spirit does 
not remain the “God of the spirits of all flesh.” . . . A sen- 
tence in the Midrash carries on the idea to its logical con- 
clusion: “TI call heaven and earth to witness: be it an Israelite 


OO 


CRITICISM OF JUDAISM 277 


or an heathen, a man or a woman, a slave or a maidservant, 
only by acts is the Holy Spirit revealed.”’ Action is the proof, 
the criterion, of the Holy Spirit. All differences of race, faith 
and descent disappear before this criterion of man: before 
this criterion and none other. That a man have reason and 
spirit, and thereby pursues knowledge, does not demonstrate 
that he possesses the Holy Spirit: tat can be proved by his 
acts alone. His conduct alone proves whether he has the 
Holy Spirit with him. . . . These words are, in the Midrash, 
put into the mouth of Elijah, the precursor of the Messiah. 
Man, in the infinitude of his moral duties, in the infinite ex- 
tent of his horizon, in his moral absolute, released from all 
irrelevant relationships of nature and history, man the abso- 
lute becomes the carrier of the Holy Spirit. (Hermann Cohen, 
Religion der Vernunft, Ch. 7.) 


3. Social Criticism 
JEWISH CONSERVATISM 


“The Jews, independently of the capital qualities for cit- 
izenship which they possess in their industry, temperament and 
energy and vivacity of mind, are a race essentially monarchi- 
cal, deeply religious and shrinking from converts as from a 
calamity. They are ever anxious to see the religious systems 
of the countries in which they live flourish; yet, since your 
society has become agitated in England, and powerful com- 
binations menace your institutions, you find the once loyal 
Hebrew invariably arrayed in the same ranks as the leveller 
and the latitudinarian, and prepared to support the policy 
which may even endanger his life and prosperity, rather than 
tamely continue under a system which seeks to degrade him. 
The Tories lose an important election at a critical moment; 
tis the Jews come forward to vote against them. The Tories 
are alarmed at the scheme of a latitudinarian university, and 
learn with relief that funds are not forthcoming for its estab- 


278 THE MODERN EPOCH 


lishment; a Jew immediately advances and endows it. Yet 
the Jews, Coningsby, are essentially Tories. Toryism is, in- 
deed, but copied from the mighty prototype which has fash- 
ioned Europe. In every generation they must become more 
powerful and more dangerous to the society which is hostile 
to them. Do you think that the quiet, humdrum persecution 
of a decorous representative of an English University can 
crush those who have successfully baffled the Pharaohs, Neb- 
uchadnezzar, Rome and the feudal ages? It is a physiologi- 
cal fact, a simple law of nature, which has baffled Egyptian 
and Assyrian kings, Roman emperors and Christian inquis- 
itors. No penal laws, no physical tortures, can effect that a 
superior race should be absorbed by an inferior, or be de- 
stroyed by it. The mixed, persecuting races disappear; the 
pure, persecuted race remains. And at this moment, in spite 
of centuries, of tens of centuries of degradation, the Jewish 
mind exercises a vast influence in the affairs of Europe. I 
speak not of the laws, which they still obey; of their literature, 
with which your minds are saturated; but of the living Hebrew 
intellect.” (Sidonia, in Disraeli’s Coningsby, Vol. IV, Chap. 
XV.) 


ANTI-JEWISH COMMUNISM 


You Jews, who demand a special emancipation, a Jewish 
emancipation, are egoists; you should, as Germans, work for 
the emancipation of Germany, and, as human beings, work 
for the emancipation of humankind. . . . Let us look at the 
Jew as he is every day, not the Jew of the Sabbath. Let us 
not seek the mystery of the Jew in his religion, but let us 
seek the mystery of his religion in the Jew as he is. What 
is the worldly foundation of Judaism? It is a practical need, 
egoism. What is the worldly practice of the Jew? Commerce. 
What is the worldly divinity of the Jew? Money. Well, then, 
liberation from commerce and money, that is, from real and 
practical Judaism, is the great need of our time. An organized 


CRITICISM OF JUDAISM 279 


society which would subvert the foundations of commerce, and 
therefore would subvert commerce itself, would make it im- 
possible for the Jew to exist. . . . The Jew has found Jewish 
emancipation not only in having seized the financial power, 
but in having contributed, as far as he could, to enthrone the 
idol of money over the world. ... The Jews have found 
emancipation to the same extent that the Christians have be- 
come Jews. (Karl Marx, Annales allemandes-frangaises.) 


THE MISSION OF THE PROLETARIAT 


The high dignity of your historic mission should fill your 
minds. The vices of the oppressed, the pastimes of the poor 
in spirit, the frivolities of the inconsequential individual— 
these things no longer become you. You are the rock upon 
which the church of these times shall be built. The grave 
moral significance of this idea should take hold of your minds 
with a devouring jealousy, should model the whole of your lives 
in its image: let it never leave you; let it be with you in 
your factory, during work, and during your hours of leisure, 
when you walk out, when you meet—even when you seek 
rest on your hard pallets; let this thought fill your souls until 
the day when they are given up to the dreams of the divine 
sleep. The more exclusively you enter into the serious and 
moral sense of this thought, the more exclusively will you give 
yourselves to the flame which breaks from it, and the sooner, 
be sure, will you behold the day which will bring about the 
consummation of your task. If, gentlemen, I have been for- 
tunate in lighting this flame in your thoughts, if it be only with 
the few who listen to me to-day; if I have made you feel 
it as I feel it, as I have described it, I shall consider that 
fact an inestimable gain, and shall feel myself adequately re- 
paid for my effort. ... 

But before all else, gentlemen, you must remove from your 
hearts discouragement and doubt, which can easily enter into 
you if you consider only the task which is before you without 


280 THE MODERN EPOCH 


considering also the connection which binds it to great historic 
forces. . . . Have you ever, from the summit of a mountain, 
looked upon the rising of the sun? A purple ribbon, touched 
with crimson and with blood, at the furthest limit of the 
horizon, announces the rising light; and then the fogs and 
the mists gather, and throw themselves against the breaking 
dawn, and for a moment extinguish its rays. But there is no 
earthly power which can hold back the slow, majestic rising 
of the sun; and one hour Iater, in the eyes of the whole world, 
he bathes the firmament in warmth and light. Every day one 
hour suffices to lift up over the earth a new sun; twenty or 
thirty years will not be too much to lift up a new sun over 
the history of mankind. (Ferdinand Lassalle, The Programme 
of the Workers.) © 


ANTI-SEMITISM AND THE JEWS 


If it is not true that the Jews are a race, it is equally un- 
true that they should be considered as the causes of modern 
changes. To so consider them would be to accord them too 
much importance, something which is done rather by the anti- 
Semites than by the philo-Semites. To make, of Israel, the 
world’s centre, the ferment of the peoples, the agitator of the 
nations—that is absurd: yet nevertheless this is what is done 
by the friends and by the enemies of the Jews. Whether their 
name be Bossuet or Drumont, they attribute a disproportion- 
ate importance to the Jews, and this importance has been 
accepted by the Jews with their savage and characteristic 
vanity. But the error must be corrected. If empires and 
monarchies have crumbled to the dust, if the all-powerful 
Church has seen her authority dwindle, despite all the agonized 
efforts of the bourgeoisie, and if, on the other hand, the growth 
of indifference toward religion keeps pace with the growth 
of revolution, the cause is not to be found in the descendants 
of Jacob. The Jews themselves have certainly not brought 
about the present state of affairs: they are only better adapted 


CRITICISM OF JUDAISM 281 


to it by virtue of their atavistic and secular qualities. They 
were not the founders of the present financial, commercial and 
industrial state of society, to which so many things have con- 
tributed; yet they have benefited from it more than any one 
else; they have drawn from it numerous and valuable advan- 
tages, and that not because they have made use of methods 
particularly disloyal or dishonest, but because the centuries, 
with their restrictive laws, their religious prescriptions, the 
political and social conditions under which they had lived, had 
prepared them for their present environment, had armed them 
in advance, and with superior arms, for the daily struggle. 
(Bernard Lazare, Anti-Semitism, Its History and Causes.) 


ANTI-SEMITISM AND THE STATE 


I do not wish to put up a fight for Jewish officers of the 
Reserve. Nor have I pity for the Jew who seeks official re- 
sponsibilities in the face of repulse. Whosoever seeks respon- 
sibilities can assume them toward himself, toward mankind 
and toward God; he that goes begging for a place which is 
refused him does not get my pity and cannot have my help. 

What I do wish to fight against is the injustice which reigns 
in Germany, for in whichever direction I turn I see the shadows 
rising. I see them in the night, when I pass through the 
roaring streets of Berlin and note the insolence of the wealthy 
who have risen to insane power, when I hear the ringing 
braggadocio and the exclusive pretensions of the new pseudo- 
Germanism, displayed by a certain part of the press and by 
the haughty ladies of the court. If a certain period of history 
is to be free from anxiety, it does not suffice that the lieutenant 
shall be a good swordsman and the embassy attaché full of 
high hopes. It is many decades since Germany has passed 
through so grave a stage in her history; what is most needed 
in times like these is the elimination of injustice. 

The injustice which is practised in Germany against German 
Judaism, as well as, to some extent, against the German bour- 


282 THE MODERN EPOCH 


geoisie, is not the greatest current injustice, but it is an in- 
justice just the same, and it should be aired. But the best 
thing to do is for each one of us to dig down into his conscience, 
into his human conscience, his social conscience, his citizen’s 
conscience, and uproot the instinct of injustice wherever it 
may be found. (Walther Rathenau, in roz1.) 


THE THEORY OF ASSIMILATION 


Judaism is a religion. It was as the adherents of a religion 
that the Jews were persecuted in the Middle Ages; it was as 
such that they were emancipated by the French Revolution. 
If, at that time, they had manifested any national pretensions, 
this emancipation would have been withheld. In France there 
is no other nation than the French nation. “A Nation One 
and Indivisible”: this was the motto of the Revolution. The 
present difficulty rises from the fact that the Jews are dis- 
tributed through various stages of Europeanization, according 
to the countries in which they live; and the question is 
whether those who have risen highest in modern progress 
will help the others to rise to the same level, or the opposite 
will take place. . . . If Judaism be a religion, in what sense 
are those who have left the Jewish religion Jews? In the 
same sense as the French of Brittany are Bretons, and the 
French of Provence are Provencal. We have inherited from 
our ancestors certain spiritual aptitudes, characteristics, for 
the conservation of which we must thank our long exclusion 
from Christian society. Now that the Jews have given proof 
of their loyalty in every country of their adoption, I think 
it would be well that they should develop their hereditary 
characteristics as a particular contribution to modern society. 
The position which they occupy is the best proof of the special 
timbre which the French spirit produces in the intelligently 
cultured Jew. This originality is independent of religious 
practice. (Sylvain Levi, in the Univers Israélite.) 


\ 





| Chapter III 
THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 
1. Conservative Judaism 
THE JEW AND HIS TIME 


Has Judaism ever been of its age? Can Judaism belong to 
its age? Could it have belonged to it? Could it be made to 
do so? 

Was Abraham of his age when the Chaldean monarch 
threw him into the furnace for having broken the idols of 
his age? Were our forefathers of their time when they were 
humiliated by the Egyptians, when, century after century, 
they bowed their necks to the yoke of slavery, when they saw 
their sucklings cast into the Nile? Was Daniel of his age 
when, under Babylonian rule, he chose with the companions 
of his youth to live on the grasses of the field, and to expose 
himself to the lions rather than give up the prayer which 
he uttered thrice daily, with his face turned toward Jerusalem, 
according to the custom of our ancestors? Were the Macca- 
bees of their age when they heroically opposed the invasion 
of Greek customs and Greek civilization? Were the disciples 
of Hillel, son of Zaccai, of their time, when the Roman de- 
stroyed by the sword the Kingdom of Judza, razed the Tem- 
ple of Jerusalem and led the children of Judah away to 
slaughter or to slavery, to be thrown to the wild beasts for 
the amusement of their princes or scattered to the four corners 
of the earth? . . . And again, throughout these many centu- 
ries, was Judaism ever of its age, the Judaism for which, in 
every clime and in every century, our fathers suffered the 
cruelest oppression, the most insolent derision, and death in a 


thousand forms? In any of these periods, was Judaism ever 
283 


284 THE MODERN EPOCH 


of its age? Did it comply with the opinions of its contempo- 
raries; did it not expose itself to oblivion or to misunderstand- 
ing; was it ever found easy or convenient to be a Jew? And is 
it the duty of Judaism to be of its time? 

What would have become of Judaism if our fathers had 
thought it their duty to remodel it with the changing images 
of the centuries? If, in Egypt, the model had been the wis- 
dom of the Priests of Meroé, in Babylon, the mysteries of 
Melytta, in Persia, the wisdom of the Magis of Zoroaster, in 
Greece, the Eleusinian mysteries or the popular fables of 
Olympus or the systems of philosophy which rose and fell 
in turn at Alexandria, or, at Rome, the distillation of all faiths 
and all beliefs, or, in Gaul, the teaching of the Druids, in the 
Middle Ages those of the monks—if these had been the model 
and the measure of the reforms which were called for, if, 
to-day, in response to the new doctrine, our coreligionists 
everywhere reformed their Judaism in accordance with the 
ideas and customs of their fellow-countrymen, in every land 
and in every clime? Do not opinions, customs, needs, vary 
from land to land, from century to century? Is not Judaism 
that religion which, more than any other, is destined to wander 
through the lands and through the centuries? And ought we 
to see to it that it always belongs to its century? ... 

What if Judaism isolates those that profess it, what if it 
makes them appear, in the eyes of the people of each century, 
as belonging to another century? That fact was established 
clearly in the beginning, in the Bible, and there was no need 
to wait for modern times to make the surprising discovery. 
And yet this isolation is but a seeming isolation, and no faith 
is intended, as much as the Jewish faith, to fill its adepts 
with an all-embracing love, to give them a spirit to which 
nothing human on this wide earth can be alien, to inspire them 
with the warmest, with the most active sympathy for all 
human suffering, for all human progress, to make them per- 
ceive—and greet—the hand of an eternal Providence in the 
most obscure movements of history, to impel them to raise, on 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 285 


the very tomb of a morality which has yielded to every species 
of corruption, the banners which announce the inevitable re- 
turn to God—for the entire force of this faith resides precisely 
in making men, everywhere, partake of the conviction that all 
mankind move, together with Israel, toward the Kingdom of 
God on earth, a kingdom universally filled with truth and 
love, purity and justice. Consider Abraham, the first Jew 
to be isolated on earth. Was there ever a parallel to his isola- 
tion? He stands alone, unique, distinct from all, standing out 
against his day and his entire age; and yet, there was a heart 
within him filled with sweetness and modesty, filled with uni- 
versal pity, filled with love for all, even for the most corrupt 
of his generation. The judgment of God is about to be exe- 
cuted on Sodom and Gomorrah, on the vilest accumulation of 
corruption that has ever been known—and what is the atti- 
tude of Abraham? He prays for Gomorrah, he prays for 
Sodom! ... Hardly had God sealed with him and with his 
posterity the covenant which isolates them from all humanity, 
before Abraham, standing before his tent in the setting sun, 
accosted the weary passers-by, strangers and idolaters, and 
invited them into his dwelling, that he might exercise toward 
them, as toward all men, whosoever they might be, his pity, 
his goodness, his divine and universal love. 

Is there anything surprising in this? Was not this univer- 
salism, this active love toward all that is human, the very 
essence and aim, the motive and the significance of his isola- 
tion? Was it not precisely this universalism which isolated 
Abraham? . . . He has remained the essential type of Juda- 
ism; for the sake of humanity he remained in his loneliness, 
and for the sake of humanity Judaism must follow, across the 
ages, the loneliness of its path. . . . Until the day when “the 
wolf will live together with the ram, and the tiger will lie 
down with the kid, and the earth shall be filled with the knowl- 
edge of God as the waters cover the sea.’’ Then, and then 
only, when the age will be with God, will Israel be with the 
age. (Samson Raphael Hirsch. ) 


286 THE MODERN EPOCH 


THE TWO LAWS 


How did Israel manage to explain away the existence of 
two laws, one proper to the Gentiles, one reserved to the 
Jews, in other words, two divine religions, two churches of 
equal legitimacy? ‘The reply may be found in the opening 
of the address which God put into the mouth of Moses, when 
the latter spoke to Pharaoh. ‘Israel is my first-born son.” 
This title of first-born, which the Eternal gives to His people, 
far from excluding the other children of the Divine Father, 
serves precisely to include them. Here, indeed, is the funda- 
mental Jewish idea. Humanity is conceived as one great fam- 
ily, with God as the supreme Father; and Israel, the first-born 
among the brother nations, is, in keeping with the ancient 
usage of the East, the priest of the family, the keeper and 
minister of sacred things, the mediator between heaven and 
earth. He is invested with the priestly function for the ben- 
efit of all. 

In the light of this teaching, it will be seen that Judaism 
is twofold in the unity of its doctrine, which is, as we have 
said, something unique in history. It has two laws, two rules 
of discipline, two forms of religion: in brief, the secular law 
contained in the seven precepts of the sons of Noah and the 
Mosaic or sacerdotal law, the code of which is Torah; the 
first intended for humanity, the second reserved for Israel 
alone; the first containing nothing more than the essential 
principles of religion and morality in accord with universal 
reason and conscience, the other responding, in its dogmas, 
its rites, its hieratic precepts, to the mystic needs of humanity 
—the two necessary aspects of the same eternal Law. 

This is the significance of God’s election of Israel. Israel 
has been chosen to fulfil the high function of healer, of 
preacher and of priest among the nations, something which 
he owes in part to the merits of his forefathers, and in part 
to his natural predisposition to receive religious truth, to his 


profound genius for monotheism—as even independent criti- 


a 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 287 


cism unanimously proclaims to-day—and to his firm, tenacious 
and indomitable character, which he needed in order that he 
might first resist the pagan world, then convince and convert 
| a 

And it is a fact that this little, obscure people, despised 
and detested by the Gentiles, possessing neither the science 
of the Greeks, nor the might of the Romans, nor yet the pres- 
tige of great antiquity (for, among the old nations of the 
East, Israel was but of recent origin), to-day sees its religion, 
its Scriptures, its traditions and its Holy Places become objects 
of universal veneration. More than this, the very name is 
claimed by peoples of widely different origins, which formerly 
professed widely different cults: all of them, as by a miracle, 
have been remade, to a certain extent, on the model of this 
people, and all of them claim to be the true Israel. Semites 
and Aryans, Orientals and Occidentals, barbarians and civi- 
lized peoples, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Mohammedans 
—each of them has exerted himself to reproduce the Biblical 
type, in his own way, and under the extreme variety of form 
may be distinguished the substantial unity which dominates 
them all: the conviction that they are the legitimate heirs of 
the chosen people. ... 

And thus, beyond Christianity and Islamism, with their 
greatness—and their failings—beyond Jesus and Mahomet, 
we rediscover Judaism, with its plan for the organizing of 
humanity, its aspirations toward a universal renewal and uni- 
versal fraternity. What a change would have come over the 
world if, instead of placing the stress almost exclusively on 
the personality of Jesus, in itself so problematic, and thus 
reconstructing a new mythology on the ruins of the old ones, 
Christianity had better understood and adapted the verities 
of Hebraism which the Nazarene, far from seeking to found 
a rival church, so ardently sought, as a good Jew, to propa- 
gate! If, instead of breaking the natural bond which bound 
it to Israel, it had laboured, in concert with the latter, for 
the upbuilding of the great human family whereof the differ- 


288 THE MODERN EPOCH 


ent peoples are members equally dear to the Father which is 
in heaven! How much blood would then have been spared! 
How many oppressive pages would then have been omitted 
from the book of history! And how clearly is Judaism jus- 
tified, in the face of scandals, in the face of the abuse of 
force, of iniquitous wars which desolate the earth, in sus- 
taining its protest against the unjustified claims of the re- 
ligions which have issued from it. No, no! You are by no 
means the Messianic consummation which I preach and await! 
No, you do not realize the ideal of my prophets! (Elie 
Benamozegh and Aimé Palliére, Israel and Humanity.) 


THE VIRTUES OF JOY 


It is an easy thing, my brothers, to crush man beneath the 
weight of his miseries, to make him feel his feebleness, his noth- 
ingness. Not only can it be done, but from time to time it 
must be done, in order that he may be brought back to a 
just estimation of his worth. Our religion knows how to 
make use of this when necessary, but does that mean that 
this desolating picture must be drawn and redrawn incessantly, 
that the finger must again and again be placed upon the 
wound? Would it not be to discourage man, to paralyze his 
efforts in advance? He needs all the energy of his soul in 
order to sustain successfully, and with honour, the cruel strug- 
gle of life; if he weakens, if he doubts his own strength, he 
is done for; he falls by the way, wounded and bruised. Do 
not therefore repeat, without respite, that he is nothing more 
than a useless speck of dust, a grain of sand, carried off by 
the first breath of wind. He may take you at your word and 
declare himself beaten before the fight begins. Ah! How 
much better is the inspiration of our religion! It does not 
fear to aggrandize man in his own eyes, to boast to him of 
his high origin and his noble destiny; it shows how God cre- 
ated him with particular satisfaction, heaping the most precious 
gifts upon him, lifting him almost to the rank of the angels. 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 289 


Judaism would have nothing to do with exaggerated humility, 
with blind despair. | 

My brothers, those who would have it that our religion is 
a dark and mournful one, know not what they say. Where 
will you find among us those desolating mysteries which 
affright the imagination and oppress the heart? In Judaism 
all is serene, all is reassurance, all invites to joy and to con- 
fidence. Do we hold God to be the inexorable Judge who 
knows not pardon, or the maleficent Power which delights in 
human torment? What blasphemy, my brothers! Never will 
you make Israel believe that he adores a hard and cruel God: 
he knows, by all his history, by the records of his four 
thousand years, that God loves the mankind He created, and 
seeks its happiness. 

No, Judaism is not a gloomy religion, the enemy of joy. 
I know this by our customs, our habits, our sacred books, our 
religious ceremonies, and even by our temples and our tradi- 
tional chants. The Talmud has preserved the description of a 
joyous ceremony which in ancient days was practised during 
the festival of Succoth. To thank God for the rains which 
he had sent to fructify the earth, we went with much pomp 
to draw water in golden pitchers at the spring of Siloam, 
near Jerusalem; and the High Priest, robed in his richest 
garments, then poured out the libation on the altar. This 
was not all: in the evening, in the Temple courts, we lighted 
golden candelabra, held aloft on magnificent columns, and 
their light was so great that all the streets of Jerusalem were 
illumined. All around were raised galleries, on which men 
and women thronged to enjoy the beauty of the spectacle, 
while those who were most distinguished for rank, for knowl- 
edge and for virtue, danced and sang, bearing lighted torches 
in their hands. The famous Hillel, and Simeon Ben Gamaliel, 
another distinguished Rabbi, did not disdain to take part in 
these public demonstrations of joy; and such was the beauty 
of this religious feast that it excited universal admiration. 
“He who has not seen this, has seen nothing.” 


290 THE MODERN EPOCH 


This ceremony, my brothers, disappeared, together with 
the Temple, in the frightful calamity which engulfed our in- 
dependence and our nationality. Since those days the Jews 
have passed through difficult days, and they have known in- 
describable suffering; but in their souls they have preserved 
that serenity, that unalterable gaiety, which are the marks of 
a strong and well-tempered character. In the midst of their 
mournful pilgrimages, never certain of asylum, never knowing 
what the morrow would bring forth, the arrival of one of 
those festivals which recalled the glorious past of Israel gave 
them the feeling that they had been brought back into their 
own country. There were times when they had to hide them- 
selves in the most secret places in order to act out their sacred 
ceremonies; but if we were, in imagination, to find our way 
into the midst of these hidden reunions, what a strange spec- 
tacle would greet us! Are these the unhappy and persecuted 
ones, threatened on every hand by torture and death? ‘The 
face shines, the body, lately bent, is erect; a noble pride 
burns in their eyes; they belong to the Chosen People, and 
they rejoice in being able to celebrate the festivals of the 
Eternal. 

One thing, my brothers, embellished and sanctified in every 
age our religious joys—namely, that all Jews, rich and poor, 
took their part in them. Open the Bible. The festivals are 
often mentioned; never are the words forgotten: “Let the 
poor, the orphan, the widow and the stranger rejoice with 
you. You, whom God has favoured, share your blessings 
with the disinherited.” The very slaves, they who, among 
other nations of antiquity, were so despised that their very 
presence at a sacred festival was deemed a sacrilege, even 
they were bidden to share in the common joy, and to sit with 
their masters at table. More than that: one touching cere- 
mony linked all humanity with the festivals of Israel. During 
the festival of Succoth seventy sacrifices were offered on the 
altar before the Lord. Do you know the meaning of these 
extraordinary sacrifices? The Talmud gives the answer: they 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 291 


were intended to draw down the blessing of the Lord on all 
the nations of the earth. And with the destruction of the 
Temple, the Talmud adds sadly, the Gentile nations themselves 
suffered immense loss. 

My brothers, let us admire a religion which gave birth to 
such wonders. Let us do more than admire it: let us love 
it, honour it, and, more than all, let us be inspired by it. 
(Zadoc Kahn.) 


2. Zionism 
THE PRECURSORS OF ZIONISM 


Have you never read the words of the prophet Isaiah, 
“Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God. Speak 
ye comfortably to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her 
_that the appointed time has come, that her iniquity is par- 
doned; for she hath received at the Lord’s hand double for 
all her sins. The voice of one that crieth in the wilderness, 
prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert 
a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and 
every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked 
shall be made a straight place, and the rough places plain. 
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall 
see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” 

Do you not believe that in these words, with which the 
second Isaiah opened his prophecies, as well as in the words 
with which the prophet Obadiah closed his, the conditions 
of our own time are graphically pictured? Was not help 
given to Zion in order to defend and establish the wild moun- 
taineers there? Are not things being prepared there and 
roads levelled, and is not the road of civilization being built 
in the desert in the form of the Suez Canal and the railroad 
which will connect Asia and Europe? They are not thinking 
at present of the restoration of our people. But you know 
the proverb: “Man proposes, God disposes.” Just as in the 


292 THE MODERN EPOCH 


West they once searched for a road to India, and incidentally 
discovered a new world, so will our lost fatherland be redis- 
covered on the road to India and China that is now being 
built in the Orient. Do you still doubt that France will help 
the Jews to found colonies which may extend from Suez to 
Jerusalem, and from the banks of the Jordan to the coast 
of the Mediterranean? Then read the work which appeared 
shortly after the massacres in Syria, by the famous writer 
Dentu, under the title of The New Oriental Problem. ‘The 
author did not exactly write it at the request of the French 
government, but acted in accord with the spirit of the French 
nation, when he urged our brethren, not on religious grounds, 
but from purely political and humanitarian motives, to restore 
their ancient state. (Moses Hess, Rome and Jerusalem, 
Letter XI.) 


THE HISTORIC FOUNDATIONS OF ZIONISM 


The significance of Jewish history is twofold. It is at 
once national and universal. At present the fulcrum of Jew- 
ish national being lies in the historical consciousness. In the 
days of antiquity the Jews were welded into a single united 
nation by the triple agencies of state, race, and religion, the 
complete array of spiritual and material forces directed to one 
point. Later, in the period of homelessness and dispersion, 
it was chiefly religious consciousness that cemented Jewry 
into a whole, and replaced the severed political bond as well 
as the dulled racial instinct, which is bound to go on losing 
in keenness in proportion to the degree of removal from 
primitive conditions and the native soil. In our days, when 
the liberal movements, leavening the whole of mankind, if 
they have not completely shattered the religious consciousness, 
have at least, in an important section of Jewry, effected a 
change in its form; when abrupt differences of opinion with 
regard to questions of faith and cult are asserting their pres- 
ence, and traditional Judaism, developed in historical sequence, 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 293 


is proving powerless to hold together the diverse factors of 
the national organism—in these days the keystone of national 
unity seems to be the historical consciousness, Composed 
alike of physical, intellectual and moral elements, of habits 
and views, of emotions and impressions nursed into being and 
perfection by the hereditary instinct active for thousands 
of years, this historical consciousness is a remarkably puz- 
zling and complex psychic phenomenon. By our common 
memory of a great stirring past and heroic deeds on the battle- 
fields of the spirit, by the exalted historical mission allotted 
to us, by our thorn-strewn pilgrim’s path, our martyrdom 
assumed for the sake of our principles, by such mental ties 
we Jews, whether consciously or unconsciously, are bound 
fast to one another. As Renan well says: “Common sorrow 
unites man more closely than common joy.” A long chain 
of historical tradition is cast about us like a strong ring. 
Our wonderful, unparalleled past attracts us with magnetic 
power. In the course of centuries, as generation followed 
generation, similarity of historical fortunes produced a mass 
of similar impressions which have crystallized, and have 
thrown off the deposit that may be called “the Jewish 
National Soul.” This is the soil in which, deep down, lies 
imbedded, as an unconscious element, the Jewish national 
feeling, and as a conscious element, the Jewish national idea. 
(S. M. Dubnow, Jewish History.) 


SOCIAL AND MORAL FOUNDATIONS OF ZIONISM 


The joyous acceptance of the idea of assimilation meant the 
renunciation of the central idea which had enabled Judaism 
to live through centuries of oppression, the renunciation of 
any ideal for the future, the renunciation of every hope of 
reunion after the dispersion. But such a sacrifice was made 
at least on the assumption that in exchange Christian society 
would also renounce definitely all its ancient prejudices against 
the Jews, and receive them, without equivocation and subter- 


294 THE MODERN EPOCH 


fuge, as compatriots, as true brothers. . . . But the close of 
the nineteenth century witnessed a complete negation of the 
idea. Anti-Semitism, which, it was believed, had passed into 
eternal oblivion, reappeared, in a form more terrible perhaps 
than even the persecutions of the Middle Ages. A new idea 
rose up in the intellectual life of Europe; the idea of nation- 
alities, substitutions, in part, for former religious ideas... . 
This new religion of blood-brotherhood, this new dogma of 
physiological relationship, resulted in the same lofty exclu- 
siveness, the same contempt, for those who could not claim 
this relationship, this blood-brotherhood, as had been charac- 
teristic of religious fanaticism at its worst. 

Once more the Jew found himself excluded from the nation 
of which he had thought himself an integral part; once more 
the wall rose between him and the non-Jew; once more he 
found himself morally expelled from Europe. This revolution 
produced different results among different groups of Jews; 
among some it resulted in more frequent and more numerous 
conversions to Christianity, and in some places actually caused 
a sort of mass desertion; among others it resulted in a kind 
of moral blindness which refused to let them see the existence 
of anti-Semitism, and compelled them to assert, with discon- 
certing sincerity, that anti-Semitism did not exist. Others, 
again, fell on the idea of employing the homeopathic cure; 
they became anti-Semites, and these were the bitterest of all. 
In this fashion they acquired a sort of immunity from the 
anti-Semitism of non-Jews: it was impossible to insult or 
vilify them more horribly than they abused and vilified them- 
selves. | 

There was, however, still another attitude, that of a minority 
of Jews, but of a young and passionate minority, of firm 
character and lofty idealism. The young Jewish intellectuals, 
vigorously stimulated by this current of anti-Semitism, re- 
called the Jewish national ideal which had always been affirmed 
by the Jew of the East, and, rallying together, sought to 
revivify a dying Judaism that it might continue its ancient 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 295 


destiny under the guidance of its unchanging historic ideals 
of justice, fraternity, charity and knowledge. ‘These young 
Jews freely took up the idea of the age, the idea of nationality, 
divesting it, however, of its wild chauvinistic exaggerations and 
its criminal extremes. They too had refound a nationality, 
their own, the Jewish nationality; they accepted the idea of 
race, and were able to boast that theirs was the oldest, the 
purest human race in existence. This new orientation, it 
seems to me, should bring forth results which could not be 
foreseen by those who had light-heartedly renounced every- 
thing that is essential to Judaism. We stand at the beginning 
of a new era; our century will decide whether life or death 
will win in their struggle over Judaism. (Max Nordau, The 
Jews and Judaism in the XIXth Century.) 


POLITICAL ZIONISM 


The whole plan is in its essence perfectly simple, as it must 
necessarily be if it is to come within the comprehension of all. 

Let the sovereignty be granted us over a portion of the 
globe large enough to satisfy the reasonable requirements of 
a nation; the rest we shall manage for ourselves. 

The creation of a new state is neither ridiculous nor im- 
possible. We have in our day witnessed the process in con- 
nection with nations which did not belong chiefly to the middle 
class, but were poorer, less educated and consequently weaker 
than ourselves. The governments of all countries scourged 
by anti-Semitism will serve their own interests in assisting 
us to obtain the sovereignty we want... . 

We must not imagine that the departure of the Jews will 
be a sudden one. It will be gradual and continuous, and 
will cover many decades. The poorest will go first to culti- 
vate the soil. In accordance with a preconcerted plan, they 
will construct roads, bridges, railways and telegraphs, regulate 
rivers, and build their own habitations; their labour will cre- 
ate trade, their trade will create markets, and markets will 


296 THE MODERN EPOCH 


attract new settlers; for every man will go voluntarily, at 
his own expense and at his own risk. The labour expended 
on the land will enhance its value, and the Jews will soon 
perceive that a new and permanent sphere of operation is 
opening here for that spirit of enterprise which has heretofore 
met only with hatred and obloquy. | 

If we wish to found a state to-day, we shall not do it in the 
way which would have been the only one a thousand years 
ago. It is foolish to revert to old stages of civilization, as 
many Zionists would like to do. Supposing, for example, 
we were obliged to clear a country of wild beasts, we should 
not set about the business in the fashion of Europeans of the 
fifth century. We should not take spear and lance and go 
out singly in pursuit of bears; we should organize a large 
and active hunting-party, drive the animals together, and 
throw a melinite bomb into their midst. 

If we wish to conduct building operations, we shall not 
plant a mass of stakes and piles on the shore of a lake, but 
we shall build as men build now. Indeed, we shall build in 
a bolder and more stately style than was ever adopted before, 
for we now possess means which men never yet possessed. 

This pamphlet will open a general discussion on the Jewish 
question, avoiding, if possible, the creation of an opposition 
party. Such a result would ruin the cause from the outset, 
and dissentients must remember that allegiance or opposition 
are entirely voluntary. Who will not come with us, may 
remain. ... 

Prayers will be offered up for the success of our work in 
temples and in churches too; for it will bring ease from a 
burden which has long weighed on all men. z 

But we must first bring enlightenment to men’s minds. 
The idea must make its way into the most distant, miserable 
holes where our people dwell. They will awaken from gloomy 
brooding, for a new meaning will come into their lives. If 
every man thinks only of himself, what vast proportions the 
movement will assume! 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 297 


And what glory awaits those who fight unselfishly for the 
cause! 

I believe that a wondrous generation of Jews will spring 
into existence. The Maccabees will rise again. 

Let me repeat once more my opening words: The Jews wish 
to have a state, and they shall have one. 

We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die 
peacefully in our own home. 

The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our 
wealth, magnified by our greatness. 

And whatever we attempt there to accomplish for our own 
welfare will react with beneficent force for the good of hu- 
manity. (Theodor Herzl.) 


PINSKER AND CULTURAL ZIONISM 


In the latter days of his life, Pinsker came to the conclu- 
sion—so he told some of his acquaintances, the writer among 
them—that Palestine was not the country to serve as a place 
of refuge. The condition of the country and its political 
situation would be an eternal obstacle. But the eight years 
of his labour for Palestine were not without their effect, and 
even though he reached the conclusion that Palestine could 
not serve us as a place of refuge, he no longer urged, as he 
had once urged, that we should abandon it altogether and 
take our Holy of Holies with us to whatsoever country we 
might pick out. “In spite of everything,” he said, “we must 
strengthen immigration into Palestine to the greatest possible 
extent. We must and we can found in Palestine a spiritual 
national centre.” 

Settlement in Palestine, then, not for the sake of “Auto- 
emancipation,” but for the sake of a national spiritual centre. 
How did he come upon this idea, which is not mentioned in 
his pamphlet and which is alien to the work he had pursued? 

Such is the question you ask yourselves, and the plain 
rationalists among you will explain the phenomenon simply 


298 THE MODERN EPOCH 


enough by saying that this is a compromise between utter 
despair and a too long effort. But I, for my part, see some- 
thing deeper in this change. 

The mere discovery—such as he had made—that our self- 
emancipation could not be effected through Palestine, and 
that hence some other country would be needed, is no answer 
to the difficulties. There still remains to be cured that inner 
decay, that psychosis which has defied all remedies until 
now. What is the good of finding our own land, when we do 
not have, as it were, any character of our “own”? “National 
feeling? Where shall we get that?” Words alone would not 
create something out of nothing, magically—so much Pinsker 
had learned from the fate of his pamphlet; and he had learned 
from his experiences with the Choveve Zion that exalted 
memories do not suffice for the formation of a creative en- 
thusiasm. Where then would he find a sure and uninterrupted 
well of strength for Jewish emotion, for a stream of warmth 
and life toward every fragment of this scattered people, that 
it might be purified of all decay and putrefaction? 

Once this line of thought is adopted, the conclusion is 
natural that what we need most, even more than “national 
will,”’ is a national spiritual centre, a place of refuge, not for 
Jews, but for Judaism, for the national spirit itself, a moral 
place of shelter in the building and completing of which the 
Jews of all the world should participate. The very effort 
alone will suffice, in the first place, to bring together again 
various elements of Jewry, separated from each other geo- 
graphically and morally; and when the centre has been cre- 
ated, it will react in turn on every Jewish settlement, sending 
to the periphery of Jewry a renewal of national feeling and 
solidarity. Once you have been led to this conclusion, even 
though you have not devoted part of your life to the work 
of colonization—as Pinsker had done—you are forced to 
the conclusion that this spiritual centre can be nowhere but 
in Palestine. (Achad Ha-Am, The Parting of the Ways.) 


a EE 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 299 


THE REBIRTH OF THE SOIL OF PALESTINE 


Experience has sufficiently shown that the Jew as colonist 
and pioneer is at home only in Palestine. More or less suc- 
cessful attempts have been made in the Argentine and else- 
where; but none of these settlements has any vital significance 
for Jewry at large. Their value begins and ends with the 
individuals who take part in them. With the Palestinian set- 
tlement it is quite otherwise. The heart of the Jewish people 
responds to the efforts of the Palestinian settlers: it recognizes 
in them not merely a number of individuals, but its own repre- 
sentatives, the vanguard of its struggle toward a new life. 
That is a natural consequence of the place which Palestine 
has held for centuries in the Jewish scheme of things. Oppo- 
nents of Zionism have sometimes tried to reconcile conflicting 
points of view by admitting that “Palestine is not worse than 
any other country,” that, therefore, “Jews should not be op- 
pressed there,” and that “if there is a chance for colonization 
there, it should be taken.” But this is like telling a man that 
his mother is no worse than any other woman, or that his 
language is no worse than any other language. Such com- 
promises cannot be seriously discussed. If Palestine is any- 
thing to Jews, it is the Land of Israel. But is Palestine 
capable of being the Land of /srae/ in anything but an ideal 
sense? And, if so, how is this to be brought about? 

We have come to think of Palestine as a barren land; but 
its apparent barrenness is not to be attributed to defects of 
soil or climate, as its productivity is in no degree impaired. 
The causes are the scantiness of population, lack of industry, 
skill, initiative and intelligence, and the want of a local ad- 
ministrative system to encourage the labour of husbandmen 
to productive activity. If these obstacles were removed and 
a little exertion bestowed upon it, the soil would soon yield 
abundant crops of the richest grain, and plantations of all 
kinds would flourish; the country still answers to the de- 
scription given it in days of old. A stronger proof of its fer- 


300 THE MODERN EPOCH 


tility cannot be adduced than the fact that the territory of 
Judea alone, at one period, brought into the field more than 
three hundred thousand, and, at another time, two hundred 
and fourscore thousand “mighty men of valor” (2 Chron. 
14:7). According to Flavius Josephus, Galilee alone had 
hundreds of towns and millions of inhabitants. Even if we 
do not accept these as exact figures, there is undoubtedly room 
for several millions of people in Palestine, particularly if the 
Trans-Jordanic regions are irrigated, the old roads repaired, 
and the projected railway lines constructed. There may be 
room in the future even for several millions. The country 
only awaits repopulation and reconstruction. 

This work of repopulation and reconstruction has already 
been begun by Jews, who have created the nucleus of a flour- 
ishing settlement in Palestine during the last thirty years. All 
this has to be expanded, increased, developed and protected; 
but the basis is there and the lines of progress are sufficiently 
marked out. This is the way and there is no other. The Zion- 
ist Organization, the Baron Edmond de Rothschild’s admin- 
istration and the Choveve Zion are competent, by virtue of 
their knowledge and their devotion to the work, to suggest 
the necessary improvements. They alone know how much 
they have had to suffer through all kinds of obstacles which 
impeded and delayed development, through the absence of 
security in consequence of disputed title-deeds and inability 
to acquire landed property, through exorbitant taxes, and 
many other hindrances. Whatever has been done, in spite 
of these hindrances, is nothing short of a miracle; and a 
hundred times more could be done, and certainly would have 
been done, had there been freedom and security. Given these 
necessary conditions, the Jewish people could find in Pales- 
tine a real Homeland, where it could live according to its 
own spirit and work out its own civilization. (Sokolow, 
History of Zionism, 1, 308-300.) 


rr = = 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 301 


THE RENAISSANCE OF THE JEWISH SOUL. THE FOUNDATION 
OF THE UNIVERSITY AT JERUSALEM 


We have to-day laid the foundation stone of the first Jew- 
ish university, which is to be erected on this hill, overlooking 
the city of Jerusalem. Many of us will have had our thoughts 
cast back to the great historic scenes associated with Jeru- 
salem, scenes that have become a part of the heritage of 
mankind. It is not too fanciful to picture the souls of those 
who have made our history here with us to-day, inspiring us, 
urging us onward, to greater and ever greater tasks. . 

What is the significance of a Hebrew University? What 
are going to be its functions? Whence will it draw its stu- 
dents? What language will it speak? It seems at first para- 
doxical that in a land with so sparse a population, in a land 
where everything still remains to be done, in a land crying 
for such simple things as ploughs, roads and harbours, we 
should begin by creating a centre of spiritual and intellectual 
development. But it is no paradox for those who know the 
soul of the Jew. It is true that great social and political 
problems still face us and demand their solution from us. 
We Jews know that when the mind is given fullest play, when 
we have a centre for the development of Jewish consciousness, 
then coincidentally we shall attain the fulfilment of our 
material needs. In the darkest ages of our existence we 
found protection and shelter within the walls of our schools 
and colleges, and in the devoted study of Jewish science the 
tormented Jew found relief and consolation. . . . Amid all 
the sordid squalor of the Ghetto there stood schools of learn- 
ing, where numbers of young Jews sat at the feet of our 
rabbis and teachers. .. . 

A Hebrew University? I do not suppose that there is any 
one here who can conceive ef a university in Jerusalem being 
other than a Hebrew one. The claim that the University 
should be a Hebrew one rests on the values the Jews have 
transmitted to the world from this land. Here in the pres- 


302 THE MODERN EPOCH 


ence of adherents of the three great religions of the world, 
which amid many diversities build their faith upon the Lord 
who made himself known unto Moses, before this world which 
has founded itself on Jewish law, paid reverence to Jewish 
seers, has acknowledged the great mental and spiritual values 
the Jewish people have given it, the question is answered. .. . 
By a strange error people have regarded Hebrew as one of 
the dead languages, whilst in fact it has never died from off 
the lips of mankind. True, to many of us Jews, it has be- 
come a second language, but for thousands of my people 
Hebrew is and always has been the sacred tongue, and in the 
streets of Tel Aviv, on the farms of Hulda and Ben Shemen, 
it has already become the mother-tongue. Here in Palestine, 
amid a babel of languages, Hebrew stands out as the one 
Janguage in which every Jew communicates with every other 
Jew eiin 
The Hebrew University, though intended primarily for 
Jews, will, of course, give an affectionate welcome to the 
members of every race and creed. “For my house will be 
called a house of prayer for all the nations.” Besides the 
usual schools and institutions which go to form a modern 
university, there will be certain branches of science which it 
will be peculiarly appropriate to associate with our univer- 
sity. Archeological research, which has revealed so much of 
the mysterious past of Egypt and Greece, has a harvest still 
to be reaped in Palestine, and our University is destined to 
play an important part in this field of knowledge. 

The question of the faculties with which our university is 
to begin its career is limited to some extent by practical con- 
siderations. The beginnings of our university are not entirely 
lacking. We have in Jerusalem the beginnings of a Pasteur 
Institute and a Jewish Health Bureau, whence valuable con- 
tributions to bacteriology and sanitation have already issued. 
There is the school of technology at Haifa, and the beginning 
of an agricultural experimental station at Athlit. It is to 
scientific research and its application that we can confidently 


a 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 303 


look for the banishment of those twin plagues of Palestine, 
malaria and trachoma, for the eradication of other indigenous 
diseases; it 1s to true scientific method that we may look 
for the full cultivation of this fair and fertile land, not so 
unproductive. Here, chemistry and bacteriology, geology and 
climatology will be required to join forces, so that the great 
value of the university in the building up of our national home 
is apparent. . .. Side by side with scientific research the 
humanities will occupy a distinguished place. Ancient Jewish 
learning, the accumulated, half-hidden treasures of our ancient 
philosophical, religious and juridic literature, are to be brought 
to light again and freed from the dust of ages. They will be 
incorporated in the new life now about to develop in this 
country, and so our past will be linked up with our pres- 
BN Galen tats 

Our university, formed by Jewish learning and Jewish en- 
ergy, will mould itself into an integral part of our national 
structure which is in process of erection. It will have a 
centripetal force, attracting all that is noblest in Jewry 
throughout the world; a unifying centre for our scattered 
elements. There will go forth, too, inspiration and strength, 
that shall revivify the powers now latent in our scattered com- 
munities. Here the wandering soul of Israel shall reach its 
haven, its strength no longer consumed in restless and vain 
wanderings. Israel shall at last remain at peace with itself 
and with the world. There is a Talmudic legend which tells 
of the Jewish soul deprived of its body, hovering between 
heaven and earth. Such is our soul to-day; to-morrow it shall 
come to rest, in this our sanctuary. That is our faith. 
(Chaim Weizmann, Address delivered on Mount Scopus, July 
24, 1918.) 


ZIONISM AND THE WORLD 


I believe in the actuality of Jewish nationality, and I be- 
lieve that every Jew has duties toward his coreligionists. 


304 THE MODERN EPOCH 


The meaning of Zionism is thus many-sided. It opens out 
to Jews who are despairing in the Ukrainian hell or in Poland 
hopes for a more human existence. Through the return of 
Jews to Palestine, and thus back to a normal and healthy 
economic life, Zionism means, too, a productive function, 
which should enrich mankind at large. But the chief point 
is that Zionism must tend to strengthen the dignity and self- 
respect of Jews in Diaspora. I have always been annoyed 
by the undignified assimilationist cravings and strivings which 
I have observed in so many of my friends. 

Through the founding of a Jewish Commonwealth in Pal- 
estine, the Jewish people will again be in a position to bring 
their creative faculties into full play. Through the erection 
of the Hebrew University and similar institutions, the Jewish 
people will not only help their own national renaissance, but 
will enrich their moral culture and knowledge; and, as in 
centuries past, be directed to new and better ways than those 
which present world conditions necessarily entail for them. 
(Albert Einstein, Jewish Chronicle, June 17, 1921.) 


3. Reform Judaism 
THE NEED OF A JEWISH REFORM 


The two tendencies are to make Judaism a nation, and to 
make of it a religious creed. These tendencies are equally 
untenable. In order that there may be a nation, there must 
be the national will, and if it be true that Judaism and 
nationalism are two interchangeable terms, then we can no 
longer be considered as a nation since the days of Jeremiah. 
In what sense can Judaism be considered a national religion? 
The God of the Jews is a jealous God, I know, and suffers 
no other gods—yet He is the Creator of all the peoples: He 
has therefore desired them all. How can He be regarded as 
a national God, seeing that He desired to be acknowledged— 
and was acknowledged,—and that He revealed Himself in 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 305 


action, and judged men and nations even before the name of 
Israel was known, and seeing that this God of the Jews was 
God without the Jews, and before there were Jews? And yet 
Judaism cannot be considered as a creed either. . . . Chris- 
tianity is a creed because it believes that it possesses its own 
peculiar truths, truths peculiar to the Christian alone, mirac- 
ulous truths which are not truths to all men, which cannot be 
found within the human spirit merely as part of the human 
spirit, but which are imparted only to those who have been 
enlightened by a special act of grace. But Judaism submits 
its truths as being part of the verities of all humanity; more- 
over, it calls on all men to recognize these truths without the 
aid of special miracles, which means that all men can acquire 
these truths by the simple exercise of their natural spiritual 
faculties. (Were it otherwise, how would Noah have found 
these truths, and why would his generation have been evil 
in the absence of them?) Judaism is not, therefore, a creed. 
What is it then? It is difficult to say in a single word or con- 
cept; for Judaism is nothing less than history, than the re- 
ligion of history. The Bible means no more to Judaism than 
it means to the child that reads it simply: it is a history. 
It contains no rules of faith, and no code of dogmas: it is a 
history, and nothing more than a history. ... To Judaism 
the Bible is nothing more than the history of the education 
of a people; and, just as this people was educated by its 
history, so will every people be educated by its own... . 
During the Middle Ages, Judaism made no effort to become 
part of society, such as it was, for it always felt itself op- 
posed to that concept of the world which the church had made 
its own: if this world is too evil for truth and virtue, and if 
the kingdom of God can exist only in heaven, then there is no 
longer such a thing as human history, and earth has no future; 
but Judaism is founded on the concept of this world’s future; 
it is on this earth that the knowledge of God will become 
triumphant and reign; it is on this earth that He desires to 
see realized the heavenly Kingdom of virtue and truth. That 


306 THE MODERN EPOCH 


is why Judaism feels itself to be in harmony with the present 
age, why it feels so profoundly the need to be admitted into 
modern society; for the modern age cries out for the very 
things that it demands—an earthly reign of truth and virtue. 
_ What this new age seeks to found on principles of reason, 
the Jews feel within themselves as a religious need, and their 
whole religion lies therein. They see in the history of their 
people, as in a mirror, how the education of humanity should 
be conducted, and whither it should tend—namely, toward 
the triumph of the spirit; thus every Jew feels the inner 
compulsion of his religion to co-operate in the realization of 
the triumph of the spirit, to set the example by his own life, 
in order that it may spread to all humanity. ... 

It follows that a radical reform of Judaism is no longer a 
matter of choice, but a religious duty. The task of this 
century is to introduce into this world the reign of truth and 
reason, the reign of true and rational law drawn from the 
sources of the spirit—and this task is precisely our own re- 
ligious task. . . . And if the practice of our old religious 
symbolism, instead of furthering this end, only obstructs and 
delays it, then we must turn to the principle that “to serve 
God, and preserve the Law, we must destroy it.” (Samuel 
Hirsch, The Reform of Judaism.) 


THE REFORM OF JEWISH THEOLOGY 


Unless Jewish theology is to turn like a coward from the task 
before it, it will not try to ignore either the results of modern 
research on the language, history and religion of the Bible, 
or the indubitable truths revealed by science—however con- 
tradictory these be to Biblical concepts. Judaism is a religion 
of historic growth, its evolution is not to be accepted as 
final, and it renews itself in every age. There is no need to 
preserve the leaves that have fallen; there comes a new bud- 
ding with very spring. Systematic theology will reveal the 
moving forces of religion, the truths of faith made powerful 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 307 


by life itself, by the ardor with which they are espoused 
—and will not seek to hide either their mobility or the changes 
which they may undergo; and just as, according to rabbinic 
tradition, the sacred ark contained, side by side with the new 
tables of the Law, the fragments of the former tables, shat- 
tered by Moses, so the new theology will save a place for the 
past truths of an outlived world, side by side with the truths 
of a young world of clearer and deeper vision—and its truth 
will be reflected in many colours from both, as light is re- 
fracted in many colours from a prism. (Kaufman Kohler, 
Systematic Theology of Judaism.) 


PROGRESSIVE REVELATION 


Every creative act is a divine secret: it escapes observa- 
tion. Thus, in the realm of human activity, the sudden light 
of the genius appears like the direct action of the divine spirit 
on the spirit of a man or of a privileged people. In the early 
ages the divine inspiration was felt chiefly in those spiritual 
revolutions which accompanied the appearance of a new re- 
ligion, overturning the beliefs of an entire world. Just as, 
in the childhood of man, the life of the senses predominates, 
together with the imagination, thus, and to the same degree, 
those beings who are specially gifted for the reception of divine 
impressions in the depths of their soul, apprehend these as 
apparitions perceptible to the senses. The “seer” sees divinity 
when, in a condition similar to that of sleep, his personal con- 
sciousness, his “I,”’ seems to have been effaced, and he utters, 
as a prophet, the words which he then heard. This divine 
apparition in the mirror of the soul is—revelation. 

At the birth of all religions and all sects will be found that 
condition of soul which invites such visions, such contempla- 
tion of God. We read in the Holy Scriptures that the prophets 
of primitive paganism, Balaam, Job and Eliphaz, Abimelech 
and Laban, received, just like the patriarchs of Israel, revela- 
tions of God. What distinguishes the seers or prophets of 


308 THE MODERN EPOCH 


Israel from those of other nations is by no means the faculty 
to receive divine revelations; it is solely the moral character 
of the divinity which was revealed to the former alone. The 
national genius of Israel, as made manifest in Abraham, in 
Moses, in Elijah, and in all the great prophets of the literary 
epoch, taught with progressive strength the moral force of the 
divinity, and it was this contact between the human and the 
universal spirit, God’s especial provision, which was destined 
to play so preponderant a réle in the history of mankind. 

But even in the case of Israel, it was necessary for revela- 
tion to pass through various phases according to the phases, 
more or less advanced, through which the people itself passed. 
Dreams and visions played an important part, even with the 
great prophets, if only at the beginning of their career, and 
in order to serve, as it were, the purpose of a solemn investi- 
ture. A more advanced stage is reached when the moral con- 
tent of the divine message takes hold of the prophet. Instead 
of being assailed by visions and images, he is now assailed 
by profound thoughts and new truths, which find utterance 
in sublime language, and is carried by the might of God to 
the utmost heights of inspiration; but here again he is moved 
by an ineluctable force from which he cannot escape. At a 
still higher stage the prophet receives the divine message in 
the form of pure thought, and while in full and conscious 
possession of his intellectual faculties. ‘God speaks to him as 
one man speaks to another”—as it is said of Moses, in the 
Bible. (Lbid.) 


THE NEW MESSIANISM 


The position of the Jew in the Western countries is no 
longer what it was; he feels himself intimately joined to their 
civilization and can demand the same rights as his non-Jewish 
fellow-citizens; this change has resulted in an entirely new 
orientation of his religious aims and aspirations. He desires, 
with every fibre of his soul, to be part of his fatherland; he 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 309 


is distinguished by his religion alone from the people who 
surround him and whose hopes and aspirations are the same 
as his own. The idea of a return to Palestine, of the rebirth 
of a Palestinian state under a Jewish king is insufferable, and 
the prayer for the restoration of ancient Jerusalem is like a 
lie on his lips. Thus all the propounders of reform Judaism 
have unanimously decided against the preservation, within the 
body of the liturgy and of doctrine, of the passages relating 
to the belief in a personal Messiah. They have left only the 
hope of a Messianic epoch of universal knowledge of God and 
of universal love among mankind, an ideal intimately related 
to the mission of the Jewish people. In the beautiful words 
uttered by the second Isaiah for the sorrowful servant of 
God, the title of Messiah is henceforth conferred upon the 
Jewish people itself: Israel, the suffering Messiah, will, in the 
end, become the Messiah of the peoples, crowned and vic- 
torious. (Jbid.) 


THE PROGRESS OF RELIGION 


A religion which, dedicated only to itself, and relying only 
on itself, finds no reason for any changes, begins naturally 
to evolve as soon as it comes into intimate contact with the 
moral life, as soon as it seeks to fulfil completely and sincerely 
its role as the guide and inspiration of souls. Primitive re- 
ligions with a limited outlook have found in the very modesty 
of their claims the assurance of survival without change— 
until the day arrives when its disillusioned adepts discover in 
disgust its emptiness and meaninglessness, and it suddenly col- 
lapses. The universal religions—and prophetic Judaism is 
among these—have higher ambitions, a richer content and a 
more far-reaching effect, but their existence is therefore more 
varied. At no time in its development can any such religion 
afford to remain long out of touch with lay advance, behind 
the progress of natural science and of history, behind the de- 
mands of a more humane morality or a more exquisitely de- 


310 THE MODERN EPOCH 


veloped taste. This religion should certainly disdain the fluc- 
tuations of fashion—and science has its fashions, no less than 
art and morality—but if it obstinately closes its eyes and 
ears to demonstrated and established truths, if it insulates 
itself in the ivory tower of its pride, if it refuses to assimilate 
and to consecrate the definite conquests of reason and of 
secular ideals, it only courts, sooner or later, its own condemna- 
tion. Religion—to quote a famous phrase—must be ready to 
live dangerously if it does not wish to die. (Theodore 
Reinach. ) 


THE REFORM OF THE RITUAL 


He who has visited, in the cathedral of Milan, the tomb 
of Charles Borromeo, patron saint of the city, will have seen, 
on entering the chamber where the body lies, a silver altar, 
and behind it the glass coffin which contains the sacred 
relics. The dead saint is dressed in the garb of an archbishop, 
with a mitre on his head and a crozier in his hand. Mitre, 
crozier, robe, hands—everything is covered with jewels of 
extraordinary value. To this priceless relic I readily compare 
traditional Judaism. Oh, it is adorned with jewels, jewels 
of experience, jewels of wisdom, jewels of lofty deeds of old 
—but the jewels adorn a corpse... . 

Our liturgy is in Hebrew. For my part, I am ready to 
believe that it is almost impossible to find a language nobler 
than classic Hebrew. But does it thereby satisfy our spiritual 
needs? You would speak with God, implore His help, feel 
that He still consoles and inspires—and I offer you Hebrew as 
the language of your choice; will it do? Will it enable you 
to struggle triumphantly against doubt and disaster? . . . I 
tell you to pray with your hat on, or God will not hear your 
prayers; does that mean anything to the thirst of your soul? 

In former days we believed that every word in the Bible 
was absolute truth. To quote the Bible was to quote the 
very word of God. It is no longer so. The labour of scholars 


a 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 311 


has established the fact that the Bible is the work of the 
_ human intelligence, full of the wisdom of the past, rich in 
necessary truths, but, from the nature of things, a human 
work, from beginning to end, containing many errors, certain 
inaccurate views, due to the fallibility of the authors, who 
were men. This is an extremely valuable result. Considered 
as the work of God, the Bible is a very poor production; 
considered as the work of man, it is the most astounding wit- 
ness of the aspirations of the human soul toward the Eter- 
Nah Wee 

It was never the desire of Judaism to ensepulture itself either 
in the mausoleum of a dead language or in the cerements of 
withered forms. Who would dare to affirm that these doc- 
trines were intended to become a funereal heap which should 
crush all human aspiration? In saving it through reform, 
we save the life, the spirit, the heart of it. 

And thus we shall be obedient to the voice of God, which 
says: “Speak to the children of Israel, and command them to 
go forward.” Penetrated by this truth, say whatever you 
have to say, without fear; fight the good fight against super- 
stition, against ignorance, against prejudice, without fear and 
without remorse; fulfil your task with courage: and leave the 
rest to God. (Leonard Levy, Sermon delivered at the Temple 
of the Union Israélite Libérale, Paris, Nov. 7, 1909.) 


THE MEANING OF THE FESTIVALS 


The first of the Three Festivals, comprising two days’ rest, 
is the Passover. It celebrates the deliverance of the Israelites 
from Egyptian bondage—the exodus from Egypt. What has 
liberal Judaism to say to this? Has it any meaning for us 
SL 

The Passover practically celebrates the formation of the 
Jewish people. It is also the festival of liberty. In view of 
these two central features, it does not matter that we no longer 
believe in the miraculous incidents of the Exodus story. They 


312 THE MODERN EPOCH 


are mere trappings that can easily be dispensed with. A fes- 
tival of liberty, the formation of a people for a religious task, 
a people destined to become a purely religious community 
whose continued existence has no meaning or value except on 
the ground of religion—here we have ideas which can fitly 
form the subject of a yearly celebration, of two special Syna- 
gogue services, and of two special holy days. It is a matter 
of comparative unimportance whether the practice of eating 
unleavened bread in the house for the seven days of Passover 
be maintained or not. Those who appreciate the value of a 
pretty and ancient symbol, both for children and adults, will 
not easily abandon the custom. 

The second of the Three Festivals is Pentecost, or the Feast 
of Weeks. In the Pentateuch it is exclusively a nature fes- 
tival. It was the celebration of the first-fruits. The Rabbis 
associated this festival with the giving of the Ten Words and 
the revelation at Sinai. They supposed that this great event 
happened fifty days after the Passover. Here again we do 
not regard the Decalogue as our orthodox brethren regard it. 
They believe (we are to presume) in the literal accuracy of 
the nineteenth chapter of Exodus. They hold that God Him- 
self spoke the Ten Words. We accept whatever view the best 
scholars may take about the date of the Ten Words, and 
we do not believe that any divine or miraculous voice, still less 
that God Himself, audibly pronounced them. But their im- 
portance lies in themselves, not in their surroundings and ori- 
gin. Liberals as well as the orthodox may therefore join in 
the festival of the Ten Commandments. Pentecost celebrates 
the definite union of religion with morality, the inseparable 
conjunction of the “service” of God with the “service” of man. 
Can any religious festival have a nobler object? 

The third and last festival, like the Passover comprising 
two days of rest, is the Tabernacles, or Booths. It was orig- 
inally the feast of Ingathering. It celebrated the close of the 
agricultural year. The festival is rather arbitrarily connected 
with the exodus from Egypt, and the wanderings in the desert, 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 313 


and all Israelites are bidden to live in booths for seven days, 
while an extra day of worship and of rest is commanded for 
the eighth day. 

For us, to-day, the connection with the wanderings from 
Egypt, which the latest legislators attempted, has again dis- 
appeared. Tabernacles is a harvest festival; it is a nature 
festival. Should not a religion have a festival or holy day of 
this kind? ... 

Liberal Jews no longer believe that God ordered all Israel- 
ites to fast upon the Day of Atonement, but there is no reason 
why they should not fast as a purely voluntary discipline. 
The fast is, however, a minor and subsidiary feature. In every 
other respect, the day has only to do with fundamental re- 
ligious ideas, with the conceptions of sin, repentance, recon- 
ciliation, and atonement. Such a day is absolutely fitted and 
useful for every human soul. It is as sacred and holy a day 
for the liberal as for the orthodox, for the reformer as for 
the conservative. (Claude Montefiore, Liberal Judaism.) 


THE LAW AND LIFE 


In spite of Christian theologians (who are ignorant of the 
true effects of the Law and of the inner spiritual life of the 
orthodox Jewish congregations of the past and the present) 
the Law did produce holiness; it did sanctify life. In every 
generation it produced a large number of saintly and holy 
persons—persons whom the purest and most spiritual morality 
would declare to have been holy. It is true that, mixed up 
with that holiness, there were conceptions and practices which 
seem to us to have nothing to do with holiness; and it is true 
that these conceptions and practices have had evil effects: the 
ceremonial has sometimes triumphed over or submerged the 
moral, and legalism, which could and can be a noble and 
spiritual type of religion, became sometimes cheap, external 
and mechanical. But it is also true that these very concep- 
tions and practices which to us seem so distant and strange 


314 THE MODERN EPOCH 


were (and are), by the better and more religious minds in each 
generation, wrought into the very texture of holiness itself : 
instead of spoiling the result, they formed a part of its ex- 
cellence; the outward was transfigured and became also in- 
ward. The mechanical forms were shot through with the 
purest spirituality; they were woven into the very warp and 
woof of the saintly life. . . 

Now how far is this view of life independent of orthodox 
dogmas, and how far can it still form part of liberal Judaism? 
This is a crucial question. For if it can form no part of 
liberal Judaism, serious consequences follow. A very large 
gap would then sever liberal from orthodox Judaism, and it 
might conceivably be that the two religions should not prop- 
erly be spoken of by the same name. . . . If this view of life 
is no constituent part of liberal Judaism, which also rejects 
some of the thirteen articles of faith, is not liberal Judaism 
hardly to be distinguished from one of the more modern 
phases of Unitarian or Theistic belief? 

In so far as this view of life depends upon the conception 
of a perfect, divine and immutable law, liberal Judaism can- 
not share it. With our changed view of the written and of 
the rabbinic law, our attitude toward ceremonial enactments 
and symbolic rites, and their place and function in religion, 
must also undergo a profound modification. We shall not 
experience the evil of these enactments, but we shall also not 
experience the good. We shall have to seek the same end with 
fewer or other means. We shall not misuse the old means, but 
neither can we use them. For in their fulness and completion 
they can only be used for good if the doctrines on which they 
rest are believed. When these collapse, to use the means is 
often a hollow mask, an empty formalism, a sheer pretence. 
Yet, in spite of our differences in belief, there can still, I think, 
remain something of truth and value. There can still remain 
a view of life—it may be even clarified and ennobled—which 
will link us with our orthodox brethren and with the historic 
past, and will stamp our religion with a peculiar Jewish char- 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM. 315 


acteristic. It will give substance, warmth and colour to the 
simple dogmas of our faith; it will clothe them with flesh and 
blood. In addition to the fundamental and distinguishing doc- 
_trine of the Mission of Israel, it may tend to differentiate 
liberal Judaism from those other Unitarian or Theistic faiths 
which in their historic antecedents are developments or recoils 
from Christianity. (Claude Montefiore, Liberal Judaism.) 


ISRAEL AND JESUS 


What conclusion may we draw as to the attitude of the 
modern Jew to Jesus? Perhaps it is well, first of all, to dis- 
pose of the question asked most often and most instinctively 
by Christians, namely, whether the modern Jew accepts Jesus 
as the Messiah. That Jews, whether modern or ancient, Re- 
form or Orthodox, do not acknowledge the divinity of Jesus, 
is known to all. It is understood that Jews could not do that, 
and still remain Jews, as the very foundation of all Judaism 
is the unity and the spiritual nature of God, and the Jewish 
religion has never in the least compromised on this funda- 
mental principle. Only in so far as all humanity is divine, 
formed in the divine image and with divine possibilities, can 
the Jew associate the idea of divinity with Jesus. It is com- 
monly understood that the acceptance of Jesus as Divinity is 
quite out of the question for the Jew. But do the Jews of 
to-day, or any part of them, find it possible to accept Jesus 
as the Messiah? 

The answer is that they do not find it possible so to do. 
And for the reason that the ideas associated in the Jewish 
mind with the Messiah were not only left unrealized by Jesus, 
but have remained unfulfilled to this day... . 

On the other hand, the modern Jew realizes the ethical 
power and spiritual beauty of Jesus. In this regard Jesus 
takes his place among the noble teachers of morality and 
heroes of faith Israel has produced. It matters not that Jesus 
dwelt on certain aspects of the spiritual and the ethical life 


316 THE MODERN EPOCH 


that other Jewish teachers had failed to treat with the same 
stress or the same charm. That constituted the originality 
of Jesus, and Judaism is not averse to originality. . .. It 
does not mean that Jesus was any less in harmony with Juda- 
ism because he accented in his teaching the element of love, 
of kindness, of brotherliness, of indifference to the material 
world with its cares and rewards. He thus taught a phase 
of religion that was part of Judaism, and that has formed the 
most precious part of it to many a Jewish devotee. Nor is it 
profitable to debate whether those several teachings of Jesus 
were duplicated or anticipated by other Jewish teachers. The 
fact is that in him they found their most harmonious and 
most complete expression, and that his whole personality, as 
well as the story of his life, served to impress them most 
memorably on the mind of the world... . 

Of course, the modern Jew deplores the tragic death of 
Jesus. Yet, if it was not inevitable—which perhaps it was— 
it certainly is irrevocable. Some say it was inevitable, as 
part of a universal scheme of salvation. Others believe that 
in so far as it was inevitable, it was due to the calamitous 
conditions of the age, which destroyed many a Jewish patriot 
and leader, and ended by destroying the Jewish state, and also, 
in no small measure, to Jesus’ own character, which made him 
choose rather to die than try to disentangle the web of cir- 
cumstance in which he was caught. Yet, Jesus died as the true 
idealist is ever ready to die, with his ideals untouched, un- 
comprehended but uncowed, with a faith in that Spirit of which 
he had ever felt himself a child and a part, whose sway he 
had sought to spread, and in whose keeping he felt safe. And 
who knows whether it was not by this very death that Jesus 
gained his immortality, that he won his ascendancy over human 
hearts, and an imperishable place in the affection of mankind? 
The modern Jew would rather Jesus had not died as he did; 
but, after all, physical death is nothing compared to the eternal 
life of the spirit, and as for martyrs, Jewish history has known 
them without number. ...A great many peculiar notions 


THE THREE ASPECTS OF MODERN JUDAISM 317 


about the nature and the function of Jesus have accumulated 
in the course of the ages. Almost all of them are foreign to 
the Jewish conception, and no doubt would have been equally 
foreign to Jesus himself. Jesus was neither a Grecian philos- 
opher nor a medieval metaphysician, and many of the things 
attributed to him he probably would have resented even more 
vigorously than the squabbles of the Scribes and the pedantic 
punctiliousness of the Pharisees. . . . 

Yet, all these things apart, who can compute all that Jesus 
has meant to humanity? The love he has inspired, the solace 
he has given, the good he has engendered, the hope and the 
joy he has kindled—all this is unequalled in human history. 
Among the great and the good the human race has produced, 
none has even approached Jesus in universality of appeal and 
sway. He has become the most fascinating figure in history. 
In him is combined what is best and most mysterious and most 
enchanting in Israel—the eternal people whose child he was. 
The Jew cannot help glorying in what Jesus has thus meant to 
the world; nor can he help hoping that Jesus may yet serve 
as a bond of union between Jew and Christian, once his teach- 
ing is better known and the bane of misunderstanding at last 
is removed from his words and his ideal. (H. G. Enelow, A 
Jewish View of Jesus.) 


Chapter IV 
JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 


1. Religious Life 
THE UNIVERSAL PRAYER 


It is not you alone that pray, or we, or those others: all 
things pray, and all things exhale their souls. In all things, 
in every world, a prayer of the heart is instinctive, as it were 
the murmur of a prayer, the echo of a prayer. The heavens 
pray, the earth prays, every creature and every living thing 
exhales its soul in prayer. In all things, in all life, in every 
object, there is sweetness and longing. Creation is itself but 
a sweetness and a longing, a sort of prayer to the Almighty, 
blessed be He. 

What is the Torah? What are all religious storms, all 
human storms, the wars of man against man, of peoples against 
peoples—and the conquest of peoples—what is it all but a 
prayer of the heart, which becomes the whirlwind of a storm? 
What is their aim, what are the clouds, the going forth and 
the turning back of the sun, and the moon which gives light, 
and the gentleness of night—what are these but prayers, 
prayers that ring and prayers that are whispered, voices that 
are audible and voices which speak by silences? 

God prays, man prays, all creation prays and all creatures 
pray. But if the ear were attuned to catch these prayers, 
not a living thing could subsist, because of the greatness and 
the sweetness and power of these longings. If the senses were 
attuned, every soul would be drowned in the ocean of song 
which is made of the song of prayers. 


That the world may exist, every prayer must remain in the 
318 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 319 


heart; it must remain hidden and be not made open save to 
the elect of the generations, to the remnant; but these few, 
this remnant, open their hearts to the hearts of the generations 
to come; and they enter into the dust of books, and the letters 
burn in brightness, and the prayers, which are buried in books, 
are heard by the living. (Micha Joseph Berditchevsky, Med- 
itations.) 


ECSTASY 


I saw again... yet I saw nothing clearly... . Light 
and shadow were interwoven; the images of things expanded 
beyond their boundaries, and mingled with each other, the 
serpentine glimmer of lights encircled the ghostly horizon. 
Fleeing from the dissolving world, I turned again toward my 
own body, and knew it to be an isle in the commingling flood. 
Its essential self of form and line stood firm in a universe 
of chaos—and yet shaken most wondrously. . . . Instead of 
the integral stream of life within the human being, I was 
aware of a certain duality: one half of me was living, the other 
half had become dead; in neither condition was I aware of 
substance, but only of forces: in one the command of blos- 
soming life, in the other the compulsion of dissolution. . . . 
Then, suddenly, toward the extremity, the soul in me stood up. 
Not that seeming soul which strives toward self-preservation, 
but the true and ultimate guardian, which strives for perfec- 
tion. She trembled up out of the horror of my division, and 
came into being to restore unity to me. But throughout the 
world she found only confusion and perplexity, but not unity. 
Hereupon my body was inspired, and achieved the simple 
act. My two arms rose above me, my two hands bent toward 
one another, my fingers interlocked, and high above all horror 
was lifted the tremendous, divine bridge. And then my body 
became one, all earth became one, and my liberated vision 
turned back upon myself. . . . I had torn down the eternal 
wall, the wall within me. From life to death and from death 


320 THE MODERN EPOCH 


to life flowed the deep stream of unity. . . . (Martin Buber, 
Daniel.) 


THE KABBALISTS 


Late that night the pupil awoke the teacher. They slept 
opposite one another on benches, in the little schoolroom. 

“Rebbe, Rebbe!” he called out, in a weak voice. 

“What is it?” And the teacher started up in alarm. 

“Rebbe—just now I attained to a higher degree!” 

“How did you do it?” inquired the teacher, still half asleep. 

“It sang within me.” 

The teacher sat up. 

“How was it? How was it?” 

“I don’t know myself, Rebbe,” replied the pupil, in his 
feeble tones. “I could not sleep, and I thought and thought 
about what you told me. I wanted to get to know the tune, 
and I was unhappy because I could not, so that I began to 
weep; and everything wept within me; all my limbs wept 
before the Creator. 

“And then I made the invocations you taught me—it was 
wonderful—not with my lips, but somehow inside of me, with 
my whole self. Then suddenly it grew light, I shut my eyes, 
and still it was light to me, very light, dazzlingly light.” 

“Ah!” exclaimed the teacher, and leaned over toward his 
pupil. 

“And oh, I felt so good, so good, because of that light. . . . 
I thought I had no weight at all, I thought that my body had 
lost its weight, I thought that I could fly. . . .” 

“Yes, yes!” 

“Then joy ran through me, I was happy, I was merry... . 
There was no movement in my face, and no movement in my 
lips—and yet I laughed, oh, I laughed so happily, so heartily.” 

“Yes, yes!” 

“Then something began to sound within me, something like 
the beginning of a melody.” 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 321 


The teacher leapt from his bench, and in one bound he 
was at his pupil’s side. 

“And then? And then?” 

“And then I heard how it began to sing within me.” 

“What did you feel, tell me, what?” 

“I felt as though all my desires and senses had been closed, 
and something was singing within me—real singing, the true 
singing, singing without words—” 

“What kind, tell me, what kind?” 

“I can’t tell you, I don’t know it any more. I knew it 
before—and then the singing turned into . . . into. . .” 

“Turned into what?” 

“I don’t know, it turned into a kind of playing, as though 
as though there had been a violin inside of me, or as if Jonah 
the fiddler had been sitting inside of me, playing the melodies 
we sing at the Rabbi’s table, but it played ever so much better, 
Sweeter, with more spirit, without a voice, somehow, only 
Spirits. 

“Happy art thou!” exclaimed the teacher. “Happy art 
thou, happy art thou!” 

“And now,” mourned the pupil, “all is gone, my senses and 
my desires have returned, and I am tired, I am so tired, so 
tited 7500.7? 

Then, suddenly, he cried out: 

“Rebbe, Rebbe, say the death prayer with me! Rebbe, 
they have come for me! There’s a singer missing in the 
choir above, and they’ve sent for me, a singer with white wings. 
. . . Rebbe, Rebbe, Hear, O Israel . .’ .” 


There was not a man in the village who did not envy the 
boy his death. Only the teacher was dissatisfied. 

“Another fast or two,” he moaned, “and he would have died 
with the Divine Kiss!” + (Judah Leib Peretz.) 


1As Moses is said to have done. See p. 131.—(Tr.) 


322 


THE MODERN EPOCH 


THE MATHMID 


There are abandoned corners of our Exile, 
Remote, forgotten cities of Dispersion, 

Where still in secret burns our ancient light, 
Where God has saved a remnant from disaster. 
There, brands that glimmer in a ruin of ashes, 
Pent and unhappy souls maintain the vigil— 
Spirits grown old beyond the count of time, 
Grown old beyond the reckoning of days. 

And when thou goest forth alone, at nightfall, 
Wandering in one of these, the sacred cities, 
When heaven above is quick with breaking stars, 
And earth beneath with whispering spirit-winds— 
Thine ear will catch the murmur of a voice, 
Thine eye will catch the twinkle of a light 

Set in a window, and a human form— 

A shadow, like the shadow of death—beyond, 
A shadow trembling, swaying back and forth, 
A voice, an agony, that lifts and falls, 

And comes toward thee upon the waves of silence. 
Mark well the swaying shadow and the voice: 

It is a Mathmid in his prison-house, 

A prisoner, self-guarded, self-condemned, 
Self-sacrificed to study of the Law. .. . 


Within these walls, within this prison-house, 
Six years have passed above his swaying form: 
Within these walls the child became the youth, 
The youth became the man, fore-ripened swift, 
And swift as these went, swifter yet were gone 
The cheek’s bloom and the lustre of his eyes. 
Six years have passed since first he set his face 
To the dark corner of the inner walls; 

Six years since he has seen, for joyous sunlight, 
Grey limestone, lizards and the webs of spiders; 
Six years of hunger, years of sleeplessness, 

Six years of wasting flesh and falling cheeks— 
And all, to him, as if it had not been. 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 323 


He knows that Jews have studied thus of old, 
He knows the fame and glory they have won. 
Since that dark corner has become his own, 
No man, no living thing, has seen his coming, 
No man, no living thing, has seen his going. 
Not even the rising and the setting suns 

Have witnessed his arrival, his return; 

The morning-star, black midnight and the moon 
Alone knew when he slept and when he rose: 
Daylight has never looked upon his ways, 

The mid-day sun has never burned his skin. 

In the dimmest dawn, “before thou canst distinguish 
A white thread from an azure, wolf from dog” — 
(Thereby the Jew shall know, the Rabbis say, 
The hour for morning-prayer is not yet come)— 
In the dimmest dawn, while through the lifeless dark 
Ten thousand times ten thousand stars yet shine, 
Before the crowing of the cock disturbs 

The burghers of the city, sleep-enfolded, 

Yea, even before the most elect of faith 

Rise to do honour to Creation’s Lord: 

In that hour, when the world in silence trembles 
Before the new awakening of life, 

Trembles as if she dreamed the last of dreams, 
As if a wandering and secret thought 

Made a light stirring in her folded wings— 

In that hour from his stolen sleep he starts, 
Dresses in darkness and to his corner runs. 
Light are his footsteps on the garden path, 
Only the winds have heard them passing by, 
Only the stars have seen them running swift. 


But there are moments when a playful wind 
Out of the blue deep like the Tempter comes, 
And with a loving hand his earlock fondles, 
And whispers to him with dissolving sweetness. 
And the boy’s eyelids cling to one another, 

As if they pleaded with him: “Brother, brother, 


324 


THE MODERN EPOCH 


Have pity on the dark eyes under us; 
And we are weary, for with thee we suffer: 


iA full day we have toiled, a summer day, 


And half a summer night: it is enough. 

Brother, return and sleep, and we with thee, 

Too short thy sleep was to restore our strength... .” 
But sudden starts the boy, draws his lean hand 

Across his eyes, as if temptation sat 

Upon his leaden lid: and clear and swift 

His footsteps echo from the empty streets. 


And then the wind that blows about the garden 
Takes up the theme, and gentle is its voice: 

“Green is my cradle, child of happiness, 

Joy in my blossom, ere thine own be withered. . . .” 
And left and right of him the flowers and grasses 
Speak to him from their dreams, “We too are sleeping.” 
Even the stars above him take on voices, 

And wink: “We sleep, although our eyes are open.” 
The drunken odours of a thousand flowers 

Mount to his nostrils in resistless waves: 

They break upon his eyes, his lips, his throat. 

He bares his breast then to receive the wind, 

And lifts his strengthless hands as if in prayer: 

“O dear wind, take me, carry me from here, 

And find a place for me where I may rest: 

For here is only weariness and pain... .” 

His raised hands bruise against the garden fence, 
And tell him he has wandered from the path: 

Swift he recalls his vows, recalls his corner, 

And turns him from the Tempter’s voice, and flees. 


In the Yeshivah reigns a sacred silence 

Which he, the sacred youth; fs first to break; 

For there, in the dark corner, wait for him— 
Faithful companions since the day he came— 
Three friends: his stand, his candle and his Talmud. 
As if the moments could not move too swiftly 

That lie between him and his trusted friends, 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 325 


He hastens to his place and takes his stand, 
And like a pillar stands from morn till night. 
Still standing he will eat his midday crust, 
Still standing he will half outwatch the night. 
Granite is yielding clay compared with hin— 
A Jewish boy unto the Torah vowed. 


“Oi, omar Rabba, tonu rabonon, 

Thus Rabba speaks, and thus our teachers taught,” 

(Backward and forward swaying he repeats, 

With ceaseless singsong the undying words); 

The dawn, the garden, the enchanted fields, 

Are gone, are vanished like a driven cloud, 

And earth and all her fulness are forgotten. . . . 
—Cu. N. Brarix. 


THE HOLY SCROLLS? 


THE ScriBe: You must know that a scroll of the Torah is a 
great thing. The foundations of the world are laid on the 
scrolls of the Torah, and every scroll in itself is as important 
as the Tables of the Law which Moses brought down from 
‘Sinai. And every line in every scroll is pure and holy. . . . 
The house that contains a scroll of the Law contains God 
Himself. . . . Not a single impurity can be tolerated there. 
- . . Guard well the scrolls. . . 

YANKEL: Reb Aaron, I want to tell the truth, I want to tell 
everything. . . . Rabbi, you are a holy man, and I am not 
worthy that you should be found here, under my roof... . 
Rabbi, I am a sinner . . . she (pointing to his wife) she is 
a sinner too, we aren’t fit to lay a finger on the scroll of the 
Law... . But, Rabbi, in there (pointing to the inner room) 
my daughter . . . for her sake there may be a scroll of the 


326 THE MODERN EPOCH 


Law here, she is pure, she is virtuous, she is as pure as the 
scrolls. . . . Rabbi, see, she is preparing a cover for the 
scrolls, for her hands are as pure as the scrolls themselves. 
And I (he beats his breast) I swear that I will not even ap- 
proach the Torah. ... (Sholom Ash, The God of Venge- 
ance.) 


BEFORE THE STATUE OF APOLLO 


To thee I come, O long-abandoned god 

Of early moons and unremembered days, 

To thee, whose reign was in a greener world 
Among a race of men divine with youth, 

Strong generations of the sons of earth: 

To thee, whose right arm broke the bound of heaven 
To set on thrones therein thy strongest sons, 
Whose proud brows with victorious bays were crowned. 
Amongst the gods of old thou wert a god, 

Bringing for increase to the mighty earth 

A race of demigods, instinct with life, 

Strange to the children of the house of pain. 

A boy-god, passionate and beautiful, 

Whose mastery was over the bright sun 

And over the dark mysteries of life, 

The golden shadow-treasuries of song, 

The music of innumerable seas— 

A god of joyousness and fresh delight, 

Of vigour and the ecstasy of life. 


I am the Jew. Dost thou remember me? 
Between us there is enmity for ever! 

Not all the multitudes of ocean’s waters, 
Storm-linking continent with continent, 

Could fill the dark abyss between us yawning. 
The heavens and the boundless wildernesses 
Were short to bridge the wideness set between 
My fathers’ children and thy worshippers. 
And yet behold me! I have wandered far, 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 327 


By crooked ways, from those that were before me, 
And others after me shall know this path. 

But amongst those that will return to thee 

I was the first to free my soul that groaned 

Beneath the agony of generations; 

For a day came I would endure no more, 

And on that day my spirit burst its chains 

And turned again towards the living earth. 


The people and its God have aged together! 
Passions which strengthlessness had laid to sleep 
Start into sudden life again, and break 
Their prison of a hundred generations. 
The light of God, the light of God is mine! 
My blood is clamorous with desire of life! 
My limbs, my nerves, my veins, triumphant shout 
For life and sunlight. 

And I come to thee, 
And here before thy pedestal I kneel 
Because thy symbol is the burning sun, 
I kneel to thee, the noble and the true, 
Whose strength is in the fulness of the earth, 
Whose will is in the fulness of creation, 
Whose throne is on the secret founts of being. 
I kneel to life, to beauty and to strength, 
I kneel to all the passionate desires 
Which they, the dead-in-life, the bloodless ones, 
The sick, have stifled in the living God, 
The God of wonders of the wilderness, 
The God of gods, Who took Canaan with storm 
Before they bound Him in Phylacteries. 

—SH. TCHERNICHOWSKY., 


THE ANCIENT LAW 


This night She appeared before me, the Conquered One; 
her eyes were bound, her neck was bent, her head was bowed. 
This night She appeared before me, such as I have seen 


328 THE MODERN EPOCH 


her on the cathedral pillar, leaning her rosy hand of sand- 
stone on the broken staff of her standard—the Accursed One 
—with the tumbled book, with her young hips under the 
straight folds of her chaste tunic; 

This night she appeared before me, the Desolate One. 

“In vain, in vain,” she said. “Never will you truly love 
their theatres, their museums, their palaces, their games. Too 
young will your brow be overshadowed by sadness and pain. 
All beauty will be luxury to you, all luxury an abomination, 
all pleasure theft. 

“You will believe you love your friends, your neighbours. 
But stand face to face with yourself. What is it makes your 
heart beat? It is when you hear hoarse voices, when you 
see feverish hands, eyes that are all but closed, when the 
mouth that asks your help cries out to you: It is thy debt 
to me. For it is your brother who has your soul in his keep- 
ing, it is he who declares himself your equal. 

“You will try to sing the song of strength, of daring. But 
your love will be only for the dreamers who face life unarmed. 
You will try to give yourself up to the joyous song of the 
peasant, the brutal march of the soldier, the gracious roun- 
delays of merry girls. But the aptitude of your ear will be 
only for the lamentations which go up from the four corners 
of the universe.” (André Spire, Jewish Poems.) 


PURE AND IMPURE 


“But did I tell you,” said the Reb, “the story of the woman 
who asked me a question the other day? She brought me a 
fowl in the evening and said that in cutting open the gizzard 
she had found a rusty pin which the fowl must have swal- 
lowed. She wanted to know whether the fowl might be eaten. 
It was a very difficult point, for how could you tell whether 
the pin had in any way contributed to the fowl’s death? I 
searched the Schass, and a heap of Shaaloth-u-Tschuvoth. I 
went and consulted the Maggid and Sugarman the shadchan, 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 329 


and Mr. Karlkammer, and at last we decided that the fowl 
was trifa and could not be eaten. So the same evening I sent 
for the woman, and when I told her of the decision she burst 
into tears and wrung her hands. ‘Do not grieve so,’ I said, 
taking compassion upon her. ‘I will buy thee another fowl.’ 
But she wept on uncomforted. ‘O woe! woe!’ she cried. ‘We 
ate it all up yesterday.’ .. .” 

Pinchas was convulsed with laughter. Recovering himself, 
he lit his half-smoked cigar without asking leave. 

“T thought it would turn out differently,” he said. “Like 
that story of the peacock. A man had one presented to him, 
and as this is such a rare diet, he went to the Reb to ask if 
it was Kosher. The Reb said ‘no’ and confiscated the pea- 
cock. Later on the man heard that the Rabbi had given a 
banquet at which the peacock was the crowning dish. He 
went to his Rabbi and reproached him. ‘J may eat it,’ said 
the Rabbi, ‘because my father considers it permitted, and 
we must always go by what some eminent Son of the Law 
decides. But you unfortunately came to me for an opinion, 
and the permissibility of the peacock is a point on which I 
have always disagreed with my father.’” (Israel Zangwill, 
Children of the Ghetto.) 


THE LAST PASSOVER 


Chad Gadya! Chad Gadya! Only one kid of the goat. 

At last the family Passover service was drawing to an end. 
His father had started on the curious Chaldaic recitative that 
wound it up: 

Only one kid, only one kid, which my father bought for 
two zuzim. Chad Gadya! Chad Gadya! 

The young man smiled faintly at the quaintness of an old 
gentleman in a frock-coat, a director of the steamboat com- 
pany in modern Venice, talking Chaldaic, wholly unconscious 
of the incongruity, rolling out the sonorous syllables with 
unction, propped up on the prescribed pillows. 


330 THE MODERN EPOCH 


And a cat came and devoured the kid which my father 
bought for two zuzim. Chad Gadya! Chad Gadya! . 

And suddenly the contrast of these quietudes with his own 
restless life overwhelmed him in a great flood of helplessness. 
His eyes filled with salt tears. He would never sit at the 
head of his own table, carrying on the chain of piety that 
linked the generations each to each; never would his soul be 
lapped in this atmosphere of hope and trust; no woman’s love 
would ever be his; no children would ever rest their little 
hands in his; he would pass through existence like a wraith, 
gazing in at the warm firesides with hopeless eyes, and sweep- 
ing on—the wandering Jew of the world of soul... . 


He stole out softly through the half-open door, went through 
the vast antechamber, full of tapestry and figures of old 
Venetians in armour, down the wide staircase, into the great 
courtyard that looked strange and sepulchral when he struck 
a match to find the water-portal, and saw his shadow curving 
monstrously along the ribbed roof, and leering at the spacious 
gloom. He opened the great doors gently, and came out into 
the soft spring night air. All was silent now. The narrow 
side-canal had a glimmer of moonlight, the opposite palace 
was black, with one spot of light where a window shone: 
overhead in the narrow rift of the dark blue sky a flock of 
stars flew like bright birds through the soft velvet gloom. 
The water lapped mournfully against the marble steps, and a 
gondola lay moored to the posts, gently nodding to its black 
shadow in the water. 

He walked to where the water-alley met the deeper Grand 
Canal, and let himself slide down with a soft, subdued splash. 
He found himself struggling, he recovered the instinctive will 
to live. 

But as he sank for the last time, the mystery of the night 
and stars and death mingled with a strange whirl of childish 
memories instinct with the wonder of life, and the immemorial 
Hebrew words of the dying Jew beat outwards to his gurgling 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 331 


throat: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” 

Through the open doorway floated down the last words of 
the hymn and service. 

And the Holy One came, blessed be He, and slew the Angel 
of Death, who had slain the slaughterer, who had slaughtered 
the ox, which had drunk the water, which had extinguished 
the fire, which had burnt the staff, which had smitten the 
dog, which had bitten the cat, which had devoured the kid, 
which my father bought for two zuzim. Chad Gadya! Chad 
Gadya! (Israel Zangwill, Dreamers of the Ghetto.) 


THE SABBATH OF THE POOR 


Six days in the week Shmulik the rag-picker lived like a dog. 
But on the eve of the Sabbath all was changed in his house. 
The walls were whitewashed, the house was cleaned; a new 
cloth shines on the table, and the rich and yellow bread, a 
joy to the eyes, rests thereon. The candles burn in their 
copper candlesticks, burnished for the Sabbath; and a smell 
of good food goes out of the oven, where the dishes are cov- 
ered. All week long the mother of the house has been black 
as coal; to-day her face is resplendent, a white kerchief is 
tied on her head, and a spirit of grace has breathed upon her. 
The little girls, with bare feet, have come back from the 
bath; their hair is coiled in tresses; they linger in the corners 
of the room; by their faces it may be seen that they are wait- 
ing, joyous hearted, for those whom ‘they love. 

g Gut Shabbos,” says Shmulik, as he enters; and he looks 
with love on his wife and his children, and his face beams. 
“Gut Shabbos,” says Moishele, his son, loudly, as he too en- 
ters hurriedly, like one who is full of good tidings, and eager 
to spread them. And to and fro in the house the father and 
the son go, singing, with pleasant voices, the Sholom Aleichem 
songs that greet the invisible angels that come into every 
Jewish house when the father returns from the house of 
prayer on the eve of the Sabbath. 


332 THE MODERN EPOCH 


The rag-picker is no longer a dog; to-day he has a new soul. 
It is the Shabbos, and Shmulik is the son of a king. He says 
the Kiddush over the wine, and he sits down at the table. 
His wife is on his right, and his children are around them. 
They dip their spoons into the dish, to take a little soup, a 
piece of meat, a fragment of fish, of barley, or of the other 
good things that they know nothing of during the week. The 
children carry these dainties to their lips with their five fingers, 
so that they may lose nothing of them. They eat carefully, as 
attentive to their food as the squirrel at the top of a tree, when 
he crunches a nut between his teeth, and all his mind and body 
are concentrated on the act. ... 

Now Shmulik clears his throat and begins to intone a song 
of the Sabbath. “Beautiful and holy is the Sabbath day.” 
And his voice becomes stronger as he goes on to the “Ma 
Yafit,” and sings of the weary who find rest, and of the wild 
river Sambatyon, which is tumultuous six days of the week, 
and on the seventh rests from its rage. “Sambatyon, Sambat- 
yon, wild with haste every day.” Sambatyon ... is not 
Sambatyon Israel? All week long Israel runs from place to 
place. When the Sabbath day comes he pauses, and rests: 
and on the eve of the Sabbath there is no more sadness and 
no more sighing. (S. J. Abramowitch.) 


2. The Sentiments 
SHELTER ME BENEATH YOUR PINION... 


Shelter me beneath your pinion 
With a mother’s, sister’s care, 
And your lap shall be my refuge 

And my nest of secret prayer. 


And when tenderness of twilight 
Falls, my pain shall give a sign, 

There is youth, they say, to squander: 
Where is mine? 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 333 


And another secret longing 
Burns my spirit like a flame: 
There is love, they say, to garner: 

Love? What is that name? 


By the stars my life was pilfered, 
By a dream that died, and see— 

Naked now, and empty-handed— 
What is left for me? 


Shelter me beneath your pinion 
With a mother’s, sister’s care, 
And your lap shall be my refuge 
And my nest of secret prayer. 
—Cu. N. BIALIxk. 


THE KISS 


No, my darling, my dove, thou knowest not yet the kiss that 
we call a kiss . 

Close-pressed unto breathlessness, close-pressed until self is 
confounded, 

Breast grown to breast till thou know not thy heart from the 
heart of thy lover, 

Lip to lip molten in purple flame, 

And each from the other draws out youth and the ichor of 
youth, 

Draws out the ichor of spring, and renders the passion of 
summer... 

The kiss that we call a kiss. 


S-s-t! Body is melted and gone, and only the souls, the 
Spirits remain. 

Man and the world of man are no more, there is only the world 
of vision, 

Earth from beneath us is vanished, vanished are limits and 
walls: 

The universe hangs on a kiss, exists in the hold of a kiss: 


334 THE MODERN EPOCH 


Woe if the kiss be broken, lest the universe fall into dust .. . 
The kiss that we call a kiss. 


Mine is not the blame, my darling, if the lightning is locked 


in my eye, 
If my arms and my lips were made for embraces and kisses, 
Kisses that know not beginning or end. . . . 


There is a fire that burns in our veins, and if, trembling, it be 
not spilled. ) 

In the lap of clear-eyed women, pure-ringleted girls, 

It will burst from its channels, consume the heart within. 

And God, the great God of love will never, oh, never, forgive 
us 

If the fire of our love should waste, should be lost in the 
frozen mists of life, 

Should consume in the ice of the north, 

If our hearts to the hungry be scattered 

And our heat swallowed up by the earth. . . . 

—ZALMAN SHNAIUR. 


YOU MUST NOT CRY... 


Girl, you must not cry: I tell you, you must not cry, 
For even your tears are empty of meaning. 

Oh, I know, I know, they come from the heart— 
And in your heart—let be there what will— 

Only love is not there. 


I ask you now: What is it you want? 

Are you thirsty for kisses? You have had kisses enough. 
More, have you given me more kisses, 

That you ask more kisses of me? 


For I cannot bear any longer your shallowness, your poutings, 
I cannot bear the falseness in you. 

What! Are you offended? No, no, you must not be offended. 
I know, I know, you are honest, you are truthful— 

Only all this is false, false. 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 335 


What are you crying for? No, no, you must not cry. 
I cannot bear to see a girl crying. ... 

The tears fall like burning coals on my heart, 

They burn, they tear my heart. 


. . . Once there was a woman— 

That was long ago, long ago—and she loved me. 
Her love was strong with the strength of God, 
And infinite, like the infinite universe. . . . 
That woman was my mother. She is dead. 


Among the terrible crags I have chosen a path— 
Alone. 

Has a care ever been yours how I fare on my way? 
Has a single Godspeed of yours ever gone out with me? 


And why are you still crying? Ah, no, no, no, you must not 
cry. 

You must not, or I will be crying too. 

And yet .... 

Perhaps, perhaps... 

Perhaps, after all, a spark of my mother’s soul has awakened 
in you. 


And you rise, you throw your arms round me. 
So, so... kiss me, kiss me. 
By heaven, I am not wicked, I am not wicked. 
Only do not cry, girl, do not cry. 
—J. CoHEN. 


FROM “SONGS OF THE PEOPLE”’ 


Two steps from my garden rail 

Sleeps my well beneath its pail: 
Every Sabbath comes my love 
And I let him drink thereof. 


All the world is sleeping now 

Like the fruit beneath the bough. 
Father, mother, both are gone 
And my heart wakes here alone. 


336 


THE MODERN EPOCH 


And the -pail awakes with me, 

Dripping, dripping, drowsily: 
Drops of gold and crystal-clear ... 
And my love is drawing near. 


Hist! I think that something stirred; 
Was it he, or but a bird? 
Dearest friend, my lover dear, 
There is no one with me here. 


By the trough we sit and speak, 

Hand in hand and cheek to cheek; 
Hear this riddle: Can you tell 
Why the pitcher seeks the well? 


That you cannot answer, nor 

What the pail is weeping for? 
Morn to even, drop by drop, 
Fall its tears and cannot stop. 


This then tell me, why my breast 
Daylong, nightlong is oppressed. 
Spoke my mother truth in saying 
That your heart from me was straying? 


And my lover answered: See, 
Enemies have slandered me. 
Ere another year be gone, 
We shall marry, foolish one. 


On that golden day of days 

Shall the summer be ablaze. 
Fruited branches overhead 
Shall in benediction spread. 


Friend and kinsman, young and old 
Shall be gathered to behold, 
And with music and with mirth 
They shall come to lead us forth. 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 


And the bridal canopy 

In this place shall lifted be. 
I shall slip a ring of gold 
On this finger that I hold, 


And pronounce the blessing: ‘Thee 
God makes consecrate to me.” 
And my enemies shall there 
Burst with envy and despair. 
—Cu. N. BIatix. 


FROM “SONGS OF THE PEOPLE” 


’Tis not day nor evening rightly— 
From the town I wander lightly. 


On the meadow unencumbered 
Stands a fir of years unnumbered. 


Truths he knows that are forbidden, 
Years to him are things unhidden. 


This one riddle, Fir-tree, rede me: 
Who will be the man to wed me? 


From what place, O skilful guesser? 
Warsaw, Krakow or Odessa? 


Comes he drawn, a prince no bolder? 
Or with bundle on his shoulder? 


And what gift with him approaches? 
Strings of pearls, or silver brooches? 


Dark is he, or merry-gaited? 
Widower or yet unmated? 


Only one thou must not send me: 
From a greybeard’s arms defend me! 


337 


338 


THE MODERN EPOCH 


At my father’s feet I’ll throw me: 
On a greybeard don’t bestow me! 


Call me disobedient, hate me,— 
With a greybeard do not mate me: 


Thrust me from you, slay me rather— 
Not a greybeard, dearest father! 
—Cu. N. BIALIK. 


FROM “SONGS OF THE PEOPLE”’ 


On a hill there blooms a palm 
’Twixt Tigris and Euphrates old, 
And among the leafy branches 
Sits the phoenix, bird of gold. 


Bird of gold, go forth and find me 
Him whose bride I am to be: 
Search and circle till thou find him, 
Bind him, bring him, bird, to me. 


If thou hast no thread of scarlet, 
Give him greeting without end: 
Tell him, golden bird, my spirit 
Languishes towards my friend. 


Tell him: Now the garden blossoms, 
Closed except to his command; 
Mid the leaves the golden apple 
Waits and trembles for his hand. 


Tell him, nightly on my pillow 
Wakes the longing without name, 
And the whiteness of my body 
Burns my couch as with a flame. 


If he comes not, hear my secret: 

All prepared my coffer stands; 
Linen, silk, and twenty singlets 
Wrought and knitted by these hands. 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 


And the softest of all feathers 

By my mother plucked and stored: 
Through the nights she filled the cushions 
For her daughter’s bridal hoard. 


And the bridal veil of silver 

Waits to deck me when I marry: 
Bride and dowry, both are ready— 
Wherefore does the bridegroom tarry? 


Seethe and whisper, magic potion: 
Thus the pheenix makes reply: 
“In the night to thy beloved 

With my secret will I fly. 


“In his dreams I give thy greeting, 
In his dreams reveal thy face: 
Lo! Upon a broomstick mounted 
Unto thee he flies apace. 


“And he comes and speaks: ‘Behold me, 
Oh, my joy, my hope, my pride: 
Not with golden gifts or dowry, 
But with love become my bride. 


“Gold and silk I have aplenty— 

Fire of youth and ringlets fine: 

Both I give thee—swiftly, lightly, 
Come to me, beloved mine.’ ” 

When the night was dark above me 
And the stars with clouds were stilled, 


On his quest the phcenix vanished— 
And his words are unfulfilled. 


And at morn, at noon, at even, 

Still I watch the clouds of fire: 

“Clouds above me, answer, Wherefore 

Comes he not, my heart’s desire?” 
—Cu. N. Biatix. 


339 


340 THE MODERN EPOCH 


MY RESTING-PLACE 


Not where the myrtle tree is green 
Seek, my dearest, one, my face. 

Beside the blasting shop-machine 
Have I made my resting-place. 


Not where the birds in freedom sing 
Seek, my dearest one, my face. 

With slaves whose chains mechanic ring 
Have I made my resting-place. 


Not where happy fountains play 
Seek, my dearest one, my face. 
Where tears run through the bitter day 
Have I made my resting-place. 


And if your love for me be true, 
Seek, my dearest one, my face. 
There waits a wounded heart for you 
To bring peace to my resting-place. 
—Morris ROSENFELD. 


THE MARRIAGE-BROKER 


And it was night and it was day, meaning to say it was 
somewhere in between, toward the evening, when I was pass- 
ing on my cart through the streets of Boiberick, when some- 
body stops me—and none other than Ephraim the shadchan. 
Ephraim the shadchan, I would have you know, is a shadchan 
like all others, takes his business very, very seriously, and 
dreams of marriages night and day. “Begging your pardon, 
Reb Tevyeh,” says he. “I’ve got something to tell you.” 
“Glad to hear it. Hope it’s something good.” “I have,” says 
he, “a daughter.” “Fine,” I answer, “I, bless you, have 
seven.” “I know that you have seven,” says he, “I have 
seven of them too.” “Well now, that’s fourteen altogether,” 
I answer him. “Jokes aside, Reb Tevyeh,” says he, “I’ve 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 341 


something serious this time. You know I’m a marriage- 
broker. I’ve found a husband for your daughter. But not 
a plain husband, mind you, a husband, one in a thousand, 
they’re not made any better.” “I’d like to know,” says I, 
“what it is you call a husband of that kind, one in a thousand 
and they don’t make them any better. If it’s a tailor or a 
sandal-maker, or a Hebrew teacher, tell him to stay where 
he is, and [ll go on my way. You'll find somebody as good 
as I for him anywhere. What does the Holy Book say—” 
“Reb Tevyeh,” he interrupts, “are you off on the Scriptures 
again. It’s a day’s job to get down to a serious word with 
you. You're liable to drown a man in Scriptures. Listen now, 
I’m going to show you what kind of marriage I, Ephraim the 
shadchan, can fix up for you. But you,” says he, “have to 
sit still a minute and just listen.” And having said this, 
Ephraim reels me off the list of the young bridegroom-to-be’s 
virtues—from which it becomes clear that there isn’t another 
like him in the whole world. “In the first place,” says he, 
“the family of this young man is among the finest. I want 
you to know that. I’m a father myself, and I know I don’t 
want my daughter to marry just anywhere. F amily’s an im- 
portant thing. I’ve got all sorts of families on my lists, good 
and middling and best, plain people, just ordinary workers, and 
masters, owners, business men. What’s more, this young fel- 
low I’m talking of is none of your ignorant plutocrats—he’s 
got all kinds of education, and, take it from me, this is one 
of the most important points. I hate an ignorant man as I 
hate a pig. Better a hooligan than an ignorant man, I say. 
You can stand on your head ten times a day, and walk about 
hatless, like a heathen, for all I care, but if you know what 
the sages taught, then you’re a man after my heart. And on 
top of all that the man is just rolling in money. Drives a 
Carriage, with two fiery horses in front; you can’t see him 
for dust... .” “Well,” thought I to myself, “not a bad 
thing, after all, if he is rich. There are worse things than 
being wealthy. What’s the saying: Even God dislikes a 


342 THE MODERN EPOCH 


pauper. And it’s easily proved, too, because if God didn’t 
dislike the pauper, wouldn’t he make a rich man of hime 
Well, go ahead,” says I. “Let’s hear the rest of his good 
points.” ‘He’s dying to marry,” says Ephraim the shadchan, 
“he’s dying to arrange a marriage with you, not with you 
personally, that is, but with your daughter. He’s dying for 
her.” “You don’t say,” I answer. “If he’s so far gone, let 
him die—for her. Who may this wonderful specimen of yours 
be? And what is he? A bachelor? A widower? A divorcee? 
A horse-thief?”” “A bachelor,” says Ephraim. “Not exactly 
a young man any longer, but a bachelor.” ‘“What’s the name 
of your hidden treasure, your golden find?” I ask. Wild horses - 
couldn’t drag the name out of him. “Fetch your daughter to 
Boiberik,” he says, “and then I'll tell you.” “Fetch?” says 
I. “Fetch nothing. You can fetch a horse to a market, if 
you like, to sell it, but you don’t fetch your daughter. . . .” 
(Sholom Aleichem, Tevyeh the Dairyman.) 


3. Moral and Social 
HORSE AND RIDER 


On a wild horse, scattering rage and terror, 

The rider passed through the streets of the city. 

Like storm and the breath of the tempest 

Galloped the horse: and like the spray on the surf 

Was the foam of its gasping on its nostrils. 

Its hooves were harder than the fabulous shamir-stone, 
And the rain of sparks flew upward from the road. 

And a boy passed with those that went along the road: 
“How goodly, how beautiful is that horse, 

How well that he crushes not under his hooves 

Those that come in at the gate.” 

And the rider on the horse of terror answered: 

“Seest thou not, foolish boy, 

The ring and the bridle which hold him back and guide him? 
Know that without them he would scatter death 

And in the flash of an eye the passers-by would be slain.” 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 343 


How many wilt thou not find on earth, 
Wild as the untrained steed, wild as the breath of the tempest, 
Whose wickedness would carry the world to destruction, 
If it were not for the ring and the bridle of the faith. 

(J. L. Gordon, The Fables of Judah.) 


FOR THE BEAUTY WHICH DECAYETH 


Give me free space! For my imprisoned sighs 
Give me free space, and for my burning eyes. 
I fail, as into crushing armour thrust. 

I cannot weep, the heavy clouds of dust 

Come up and blind me. And I cannot cry 
For I am stifled. 


Like the fires that lie 
Pent in the iron bosom of the earth, 
And eat her heart, and cannot issue forth, 
So fires of fury in my heart are pent, 
And wither up my blood, and find no vent. 


Give me free space! For my imprisoned sighs 
Give me free space, and for my burning eyes, 
And for the life that sickens, 

And for the bloom that fails before it quickens, 
In the evil of the generation! 

I have seen spirits gentle as the day 

On dark and dissolute waters borne away, 

In the evil of the generation. 

I have seen sons of God deny their birth, 

And soil their heritage with lusts of earth, 

In the evil of the generation. 

And for a vain illusion youth is sold, 

And hearts that wake are stilled again with cold 
In the evil of the generation. 


Where is the trumpet of Messiah 
Whose blast of fire 

Shall rouse the blood of men and fill 
Their hearts with an exalted will 


344 THE MODERN EPOCH 


That they may rescue from eternal shame 

The works God wrought to glorify His name? 
Where is the whip whose burning thongs shall brand 
The noble of our land, 

Who hide themselves from sight 

In marble halls and gardens of delight, 

And there grow weary of their empty rest, 

And void of strength are unto death opprest; 

And tremble not before the wonder, 

The vision and the voice of Phunder, 

Though they have seen and heard the signs that send 
Their warning through the land, from end to end. 


Blessed the great of heart who shall withstand 
The stubborn days and the oppressor’s hand, 
Whose tears shall fall like quickening rain 
And living dew upon the withered plain, 
Whose breath shall be to men a wind of grace 
In an abandoned and decaying place; 
And when the sun shall issue in his might, 
The dens of darkness shall be filled with light, 
And the smitten blossoms shall rejoice and know 
The sun, and raise their heads, brought low 
In the evil of the generation. 

—J. COHEN. 


AND THERE ARE TIMES ... 


. And there are times when dreams are vanities. 
Shadows of beauty, altars unto love, 
And, in the heart, the longings that arise— 
All, all are beautiful—and all are lies. 


For wind is not a comfort unto hunger, 
Nor gold a snare to immortality. 

I cry then: “For the bitter truth I long, 
Though grim as iron, yet as iron strong!” 


I cry then: ‘‘Weary is my soul of dreams, 
False prophecies, and golden visions false; 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 345 


For, blinded with their vacant light, I gave 
My strength to beauty, an eternal slave.” 


Though all are trapped, must I with them be trapped? 

I shall be first to tear the treacherous net, 

And thunder, as the golden strands I sever, 

“Down, down with gold. Let iron live for ever!” 
—Z. SHNAIUR. 


UNDER THE HAMMER 


Thud! Thud! The hammer in the hands of Time 
Beats on my heart beneath its thunderous rhyme. 
Hoary and dumb is he, but on his arm 

With life and swing the rolling muscles swarm. 
His beard upon his bosom trembling lies, 

And strength has veiled its secret in his eyes. 


The days with all their sorrows pass like ghosts, 
And with the hammer beats the march of hosts. 
So changed beneath the tireless fall and rise, 

"Tis not my heart that on the anvil lies— 

So vacant and so wan, so void of dreams, 

And once resplendent with a thousand gleams. . . . 


"Tis not my heart, my heart of passions vain, 
The plaything of the daughters of disdain, 
The slave of every wandering ray of grace, 
Bribed with the laughter in a girlish face, 

Tis not my heart since I have made my vow— 
To you, blind smith, it is abandoned now. 


Smite hard, old smith, smite hard and do not spare; 
My heart has paid with weeping and despair. 

Smite on the weaknesses that still remain! 

Smite hard, until the heart is mute to pain! 

A heart of dreams and weakness is not meet 

In days of greed, of softness and deceit. . . . 


346 THE MODERN EPOCH 


And where the heart is bruised with love or hate, 
There ply the hammer fiercest. I will wait 

Until, responseless as thrice-molten steel, 

Nor love, nor hate, nor hope can make it feel. 
And when of smiting I have had my fill, 

I'll take my heart again to work my will. 


I will arise and cry: “Ye valiant men! 

I came with dreams once, and you scorned me then. 
My tears you met with the contempt of might, 

But now I come to weep not, but to smite. . . . 

Woe to the hearts which laughed at all I dreamt! 
Yours be the tears now—mine be the contempt. .. . 


“And you, my golden visions and my dreams, 
And hopes resplendent with a thousand gleams: 
In vain you gather round my heart, in vain 

You raven for the gates to ope again; 

Enough that once your seeds were scattered there, 
For all I reaped was folly and despair. 


“And you, my pretty ones, the days are gone, 
When, flesh and blood for you to feed upon, 
My heart was with eternal want accurst— 
And yours be now the hunger and the thirst. . . . 
Bite on my heart now, as you did of yore, 
And break your teeth upon the iron core.” 

—Z. SHNAIUR. 


THE POOR STUDENT 


And so, on a certain day, I was coming home from Boiberik, 
having delivered my wares—a regular load, butter and 
cheese and cream and what not—and I sat aloft on my cart, 
plunged in thought, and meditating, as usual, on a million 
things: on heaven and earth, on this and that, on the fate of 
man, on the rich Jews of Yehupetz, with their wealth and 
their happiness, and on myself, Tevyeh the dairyman, and my 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 347 


nag, working like slaves all the days of our lives—and for 
what? . . . The sun burned overhead, the mosquitoes plagued 
us, and the world was open on every side of us, beautiful, big, 
free, and I felt like opening wings and flying, or stripping 
myself naked and plunging into a pool for a swim... . 
Then, suddenly looking up, I saw a young fellow stepping 
out across the sand, a package under one arm, and sweating 
and panting for all he was worth. “Hello, young feller-my- 
lad,” I said, “here, come aboard, plenty of room in this sump- 
tuous chariot; take a seat, I’m going your way anyway. Be- 
sides, you’ve read the Scriptures, I don’t doubt—‘if thou seest 
thy neighbour’s ass’ . . . you know the text. The more so 
in the case of a man, what?” The young tramp didn’t wait 
to be asked twice, grinned, crawled up into the cart and sat 
down beside me. “Where might a young fellow like you be 
coming from on a day like this?” I ask him. ‘“Yehupetz,” he 
answers. “And what kind of business might a young fellow like 
you have in Yehupetz?” “A young fellow like me?” he says. 
“Sitting for examinations.” “And what,” I ask him, “might 
a young fellow like you be studying to be?” “A young fellow 
like me,” he answers, “hasn’t any idea himself what he is 
studying to be.” “If that be the case,” says I, “what should 
a young fellow like you be wasting his time for?” “Don’t 
worry, Reb Tevyeh,” says he; “a young fellow like me knows 
what he’s about.” “Well, now, if you do happen to know my 
name,” says I, “maybe you'll be kind enough to tell me who 
and what you are.” “I am a man,” he answers. “Thank 
you,” says I, “it’s not hard to see you aren’t a horse. What I 
mean to say is, who d’you belong to?” “I belong to God,” 
he answers me. “Right,” says I, “that’s what the Scriptures 
say, all living things and all beasts. I mean to say, where 
d’you hail from? Are you from these parts, or d’you come 
from Lithuania?” “I’m from these parts,” he says, “and 
- you know me.” “Well, then, who’s your father?” “My 
father,” says he, “was Pertchik.” “Hang you for a young 
jackass,” I answer. “Did you have to waste half the after- 


348 THE MODERN EPOCH 


noon before you told me? Pertchik the cigarette-maker’s 
son!” “That’s me,” he says. “Anda student!” “A student,” 
says he. “Excellent,” says I. ‘And all the animals came in, 
two by two. And now tell me, Pertchik, the cigarette-maker’s 
son, what d’you live by?” “I live by food,” says he. “I 
mean,’ says I, “what d’you eat?” “I eat whatever I get,” 
says he. (Sholom Aleichem, Tevyeh the Dairyman.) 


THE RABBI OF NEMIROV 


Round about the Sliches days, shortly before the New Year, 
when Jews the world over pray for the remission of sins and 
for a happy year to come—round about Sliches days, early in 
the morning, the Rabbi of Nemirov was wont to disappear, 
vanish! 

He was nowhere to be seen; neither in the synagogue, nor 
in the study-rooms, nor making one in a group at prayer— 
least of all, of course, was he to be found at home. The door 
of his home stood open, and men and women went in and out 
at will: nothing was ever stolen from the Rabbi’s house. But 
not a living thing was to be seen there. 

Where could the Rabbi be? 

Where, indeed, if not in heaven? Busy days, these, for the 
Rabbi, the days before the New Year. Are there not Jews 
enough, bless them all, in need of a livelihood, of peace, health, 
matches for their daughters? Are there not Jews who want 
to be good, and would be good if it were not for the Evil 
Spirit, who looks with his thousand eyes into every nook and 
cranny of the world, tempts and then tells, reports it in heaven 
that such and such a one has fallen. . . . And who is to come 
to the rescue, if not the Rabbi himself? 

Everybody understood that. 

But once there came into Nemirov a Litwak, a Lithuanian 
Jew. He thought otherwise. He laughed at the whole story. 
You know those Litwaks, enemies of the Chassidim, cold- 
blooded and exact. It’s little enough they care about any- 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 349 


thing but what’s written in black and white, proof positive, 
and no mistake about it. They want chapter and verse before 
they believe anything, and their heads are crammed chockful 
of texts, the whole Talmud by heart. They’ll prove to you, 
beyond the veriest shadow of a glimmer of a doubt, that Moses 
himself, while he lived, couldn’t get into heaven: he had to 
Stop ten levels below—the book says so. How then shall 
the Chassidim mount into heaven? Can you argue with a man 
like that? 

“Well, where do you say the Rabbi goes during those days?” 
we ask him angrily. 

“No business of mine,” says he, shrugging his shoulders. 
And, believe it or not, he made up his mind to get to the 
bottom of the business—and that’s what a Litwak is like. 


And that very same evening, soon after prayers, this fellow 
steals into the Rabbi’s bedroom, hides himself under the bed, 
and ... waits. He was ready to wait all night just to find 
out what became of the Rabbi in the early mornings of those 
Sliches days. 

Any one else would have dozed off and fallen asleep. A 
Litwak has a way of getting round it. He kept awake just 
by repeating in his mind a whole tractate of the Talmud— 
Chulin or Nedarim—I don’t remember which. 

In the early dawn he hears the beadle going the rounds, 
waking good Jews to Sliches prayers. 

But the Rabbi had been awake for something like an hour 
already, lying there and moaning to himself. 

‘Whosoever has heard the Rabbi of Nemirov when he moans 
in his affliction knows what burden of grief, of anguish for his 
people he bears. No one could hear him, and not weep with 
him. But the heart of a Litwak is every bit of it iron. He 
heard, but he lay there, under the bed, while the Rabbi, God 
be with him, lay on the bed. 


Then the Litwak heard how the beds throughout all the 


350 THE MODERN EPOCH 


house began to creak, as the household woke from sleep. He 
heard the murmuring of words, the splash of water, the clos- 
ing and opening of doors. Then, when the household had 
departed, the house was silent and dark once more, except 
where a moonbeam broke through a crack in the shutters. ... 

He confessed afterwards, did the Litwak, that when he 
found himself alone in the house with the Rabbi, he was seized 
with fear. He felt a creeping in his skin, and the roots of the 
hair of his beard tingled and pricked like thousands of needles. 

And reason enough, too. Can you imagine it—he alone 
in the house with the Rabbi, in the early morning, on a day 
of Sliches? But a Litwak is a Litwak . . . he trembled like 
a caught fish—and endured. 

At last the Rabbi, God bless him, began to get up. 

He dresses himself first, then he goes to the clothes-closet 
and takes out a bundle, and out of the bundle tumbles a heap 
of peasant clothes, a smock, a huge pair of boots, a big fur 
cap with a leather strap studded with brass buttons. 

The Rabbi puts these on, too. 

From one of the pockets in the smock there stuck out the 
end of a thick rope—a peasant’s rope. 

The Rabbi leaves the room. The Litwak follows. 

Going through the kitchen the Rabbi stoops, picks up a 
hatchet, hides it under his smock and goes on. 

The Litwak trembles—and persists! 


The dread of those days of judgment, the Sliches days, be- 
fore the beginning of the New Year, lies on the dark streets. 
Here and there you could hear the cry of Jews at prayer; 
here and there you heard a moaning from a sickbed at an 
open window. The Rabbi sticks to the shadows, flits from 
house to house, the Litwak after him. 

The .Litwak hears the beating of his own heart keeping 
measure with the heavy footsteps of the Rabbi. But he per- 
sists, follows—and is with the Rabbi when the end of the town 
is reached. 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 351 


There’s a little forest at the end of the town. 

The Rabbi, God bless him, plunges into the forest. Thirty 
or forty paces within the forest he stops near a young tree, 
and the Litwak nearly drops with amazement when he sees 
the Rabbi take out his hatchet and begin to chop at the tree. 

And the Rabbi chops steadily at the tree until it begins to 
give, creaks, bends and then cracks. And the Rabbi lets it 
fall, and begins to chop it up, first into logs, then into chips. 
He gathers up the chips into a bundle, binds it round with 
the rope which he takes from his pocket, throws the bundle 
over his shoulder, shoves the hatchet back under his smock, 
and begins to walk back to the town. 

He stops in one of the poorest alleys at that end of the 
town, at a broken-down hut, and knocks at the window. 

A frightened voice asks from within: ““Who’s there?” The 
Litwak recognizes the voice of a sick woman. 

“Jo,” answers the Rabbi, in the accent of a peasant. 

“Kto jo, who’s there?” the same frightened voice asks, in 
Russian. 

“It’s I, Vassil,”’ answers the Rabbi, in the same language. 

“Which Vassil? I don’t know you. What do you want?” 

“Wood,” answers Vassil, “I’ve got wood to sell—very cheap, 
next to nothing. . . .” 

He waits for no answer and makes his way into the house. 


The Litwak steals after him, and, by the grey light of the 
dawn, looks round the room, broken, poor, unhappy. ...A 
sick woman lies in bed, wrapped in rags, and in her sick voice 
she says, bitterly: 

“Buy? What shall I buy, and how? What money have I, 
a widow, and sick.” 

“ll give it to you on credit,” says Vassil, “six groschen 
in all.” re 

‘And where shall I ever get the money to pay you back?” 
the sick woman moans. 

“Foolish woman,” the Rabbi rebukes her, “see, you are a 


352 THE MODERN EPOCH 


sick woman, and a widow, and I am willing to lend you this 
wood. I will trust you. I am certain you will pay for it some 
day. And you have a great and mighty God in heaven, and 
will not trust Him. You will not trust Him to the extent of 
Six 2roschen. 3.4477 

“And who will light the fire for me?” she moans again. 
“I am sick and have not the strength to rise, and my son is 
away at work.” 

“Tl light it for you,” says the Rabbi. 

And the Rabbi bent down to the fireplace, and began to 
light the fire, and as he arranged the wood he repeated, in a 
low voice, the first of the Sliches prayers, and when the fire 
was well lighted he was repeating the second of the Sliches 
prayers. . 

And he repeated the third of the Sliches prayers when the 
fire had died down—and he covered the oven. . 


The Litwak, who had seen everything, remained in Nemi- 
rov, became one of the most passionate adherents of the Rabbi 
of Nemirov. 

And later, when the adherents of the Rabbi of Nemirov told 
how, every year, in the dread Sliches days before the New 
Year, it was the custom of their Rabbi to leave the earth, and 
to ascend upward, as high as heaven, the Litwak would add 
quietly, “And maybe higher, too.” (Judah Leib Peretz. ) 


NEW WARES 


To the world’s great market 

I bring merchandise unique, 
Love authentic and untarnished— 
Let who wants it speak. 


Neither gold nor silver 

Buys from me my merchandise: 
My payment be that I may see 
The joy of him that buys. 


JEWISH LIFE IN. JEWISH LITERATURE 353 


Loud across the market 

Rings my challenge: “Come and take!” 
And wild with answering laughter 

Earth and heavens shake. 


“Welcome, merry merchant: 
Merriest we have met with yet! 
How shall we re-sell the goods? 
What’s the profit, net? 


“Fool! If once your wares are current, 
There’s the finish of our race! 

Get thee gone! Within this market 
Fools are out of place.” 


Let me be a fool, then— 
This much I have understood: 
All your wares are made alike— 
Human sweat and blood. 
—ABRAHAM RAISIN. 


THE WAVES 


The waves which unravelled their length upon the sand 
sang: Who is this man wandering along the beaches? What 
do his sharp eyes seek? Why does he follow persistently the 
line of our foam? Why does he bury himself so passionately 
in us? Why does his heart beat? Why has he this love 
for us? 

We are clear, say some, we dance. We are grave. We 
are indolent. We are green. Blue. We are white. 

A burst of surf cried out: What painter is there who has 
captured with his ground clays the light foam which flees 
from us? Who has copied the bubbles which expand in us, 
and dissolve with a rushing noise? We are filled with sea- 
weed and with shattered shells; we are insatiable and troubled 
like the soul of him. Why does his heart beat? Does he 
love us? 


354 THE MODERN EPOCH 


Children, said the rising tide, the hope of him is that you 
will swallow up the cities of injustice. (André Spire, Poémes 


juifs.) 
CREDO 


Laugh at all my dreams, my dearest; 
Laugh, and I repeat anew 

That I still believe in man— 
As I still believe in you. 


For my soul is not yet unsold 
To the golden calf of scorn 
And I still believe in man 
And the spirit in him born. 


By the passion of his spirit 
Shall his ancient bonds be shed. 
Let the soul be given freedom, 
Let the body have its bread! 


Laugh, for I believe in friendship, 
And in one [I still believe, 

One whose heart shall beat with my heart 
And with mine rejoice and grieve. 


Let the time be dark with hatred, 
I believe in years beyond 

Love at last shall bind the peoples 
In an everlasting bond. 


\ 
In that day shall my own people 
Rooted in its soil arise, 
Shake the yoke from off its shoulders 
And the darkness from its eyes. 


Life and love and strength and action 
In their heart and blood shall beat, 
And their hopes shall be both heaven 
And the earth beneath their feet. 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 355 


Then a new song shall be lifted 
To the young, the free, the brave, 
And the wreath to crown the singer 
Shall be gathered from my grave. 
SH. TCHERNICHOWSKY. 


4. Israel and the World 
THE CHILDREN CONSCRIPTS 


Well, I was caught and put into prison. I was not alone. 
Many young boys had been brought there. Some were crying 
bitterly; some looked at their companions wonderingly. We 
were told that the next day we should be taken away to some 
place, and that the Rabbi wished to come to see us, but was 
not permitted to enter our prison. 

Yes, a good man was the Rabbi, may he rest in peace; yet 
he was compelled to cheat for once. And when an honest man 
is compelled to cheat, he may outdo the cleverest crook. Do 
you want to know what the Rabbi did? He disguised himself 
as a peasant, went out, and walked the streets with the rolling 
gait of a drunkard. The night guards stopped him, and 
asked him what his business was. “I am a thief,” said the 
Rabbi. Then the guards arrested him and put him into prison 
with us. 

In the darkness of that night the Rabbi never once ceased 
talking to us, swallowing his own tears all the while. He told 
us the story of Joseph the righteous. It had been decreed in 
heaven, said the Rabbi, that his brothers should sell Joseph 
into slavery. And it was the will of the Almighty that Joseph 
should come into Egypt, to show the Egyptians that there is 
only one God in heaven, and that the Children of Israel are 
the chosen people. 

Then the Rabbi examined us: Did we know our Modeh 
Ant, the morning prayer, by heart? Did we know our Shemah, 
the proclamation of the Unity of God? 

He told us that we should be taken very, very far away, 


356 THE MODERN EPOCH 


that we should be away many, many years, and should be- 
come soldiers when we grew up. Then he warned us never 
to eat of any food forbidden by Jewish law, and never to 
forget the God of Israel and our own people, even if they 
tore our flesh with thorns. He told us also the story of the 
Ten Martyrs, who sacrificed their lives to sanctify the God 
of Israel. He told us of the mother and her seven children 
that were killed for having refused to bow before idols; and 
he told us many more such things. All these saints and 
martyrs, he said, are now in Paradise, enjoying the bliss of 
the Divine Presence. That night I really envied those saints; 
I longed with all my heart to be forced to bow to idols, to 
have to withstand all sorts of trials, so as to enjoy, after my 
death, the bliss of the Divine Presence. 

Morning came and the guard entered the prison. Then 
the Rabbi turned toward us and said: “Lambs of the God 
of Israel, we have to part now; I am going to be lashed and 
imprisoned for having entered this place by a trick, and you 
will be taken into exile to undergo your trials! I may hardly 
be found worthy of surviving until you return. But there, in 
the true world, we shall surely meet. May it be the will of 
God that I may have no reason to be ashamed of you there, 
before Him and His angels, in heaven!” 

We parted, and the words of the Rabbi sank deep into my 
heart. (Judah Steinberg, Jn Those Days.) 


HOW HAPPY YOU ARE! 


How happy you are, how happy you are! Goodness, your 
nose is almost straight. And there are so many Christians 
with hook-noses!_ How happy you are, how happy you are! 
Goodness, your hair has hardly got a curl. And so many 
Christians haven’t straight hair! 

How happy you are, how happy you are! You are hardly 
dolichocephalous any more! And there are so many Christians 
whose heads aren’t round. How happy you are, how happy 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 357, 


you are! Your face is almost immobile. And there are so 
many Christians whose faces are not! 

How happy you are, how happy you are! Your head and 
your shoulders hardly gesticulate! And, bless me, there are 
sometimes Christians who speak with their hands. How happy 
you are, how happy you are! The Christians ask you to all 
their affairs! You behave there almost as badly as they! 

With your frock-coat on, in your dinner-dress, you know 
exactly how to murmur: “Delicious!” “Charming!” with the 
same chic as the best of them. How happy you are, how 
happy you are! When the evening is over they take you with 
them to the places they wind up their pleasures in! 

They are merry, with full-mouthed, full-handed mirth. 
They go their ways, but you, what are you doing in your 
corner? 

What are you doing in your corner, sad and uncouth, full 
of pity, full of contempt? Jew? You haven’t the stomach! 
Such suppleness, such self-mastery, such effort—and it comes 
to nothing. 

Take hold of yourself, do what the others do; or they will 
laugh at your nose! Drive away that worthy old soul of 
yours which has come so far in search of you! (André Spire, 
Poémes juifs.) 


ANTI-SEMITISM AT THE CLUB 


THIBAUT: One moment, sir. 

GUTLIEB: Sir? 

Turpaut: I am Prince Clar— 

GuTLIEB: I know it... . I mean, I recognize you, Prince. 
. . . That is, I know you by sight. . . . 

THrBautT: Sir, it is only an unexpected and imperious duty 
which forces me to address you to-day, for the first and 
the last time. . . . 

GuTties: At your service. . . . Shall we go inP 

THIBAUT: It would be useless. These gentlemen who are 


358 THE MODERN EPOCH 


present do not disturb me. On the contrary.. Mr. Gut- 
lieb, there are a great many of us, at the rue Royale, who 
will feel outraged as Christians and as Frenchmen, if 
your name continues on the roster of our club— 

GUTLIEB: But— 

TurpauT: I am certain that you do not wish to inflict on my 
friends and myself this unwelcome company, and that 
you will be glad to give me, here and now, your resigna- 
tion. I am waiting for it. 

GuTLiEB: Prince, you surely do not ask me seriously to— 

THIBAUT: Quite seriously. 

GuTLiEB: No, no! You have not thought the matter over. — 
- . . . Prince, it is impossible, it is lunacy, it is— 

Turpaut: And why? It is easy for you to turn back, sit 
down at the table you have just left, and write two or 
three lines to the President. . . . 

Gutiies: I tell you again, it is an outrageous request... i¢, 
You cannot be acting in cold blood. . . . I cannot even 
ascribe a motive to such conduct. | 

TurBautT: You would think me rather simple if I were to 
make public in your presence the wrong which we wish 
to right. 

GuTLiEB: But in any case, Prince, I have been a member of 
the Club thirty years, and no one has the right— 

TurpauT: Please! I am not going to open a debate on the 
subject. 

GuT.ies: Nor am I, Prince, and I— 

THrpaut: Well then, let’s be done with it... . Look me 
straight in the eyes. And first of all— 

GuTLIEB: But— 

Turpaut: Look me straight in the eyes, and we'll talk to each 

other as man to man. . . . There! 

Gutuies: Prince, think of my age and yours, and carry the 
matter no further. . . . Let me pass— 

Turpaut: Not before you have given me your reply. 

GuTLieB: I shall give you no reply. I want to pass. 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 359 


TurpauT: Then I am forced to make clear to you the con- 
sequences of your refusal. I have told you that your 
name next to mine is an insult to me. If you do not hand 
in your resignation, we shall settle the matter on the field. 

Gutties: I shall not fight with you. Let me pass. 

Tuipaut: Your patience makes my task particularly painful, 
but I shall not fail in it. If you do not resign I shall 
force you to fight. 

Gutters: I beg you, let me pass. 

TurpavtT: Is that your final word? (With the end of his cane 
he knocks off Gur.tes’s hat: Gutiies makes only a 
slight motion with his head.) Is that all? (A pause.) 
Gentlemen, you are witnesses. 

(Henri Bernstein, Jsrael, Act I, Sc. 6.) 


WHAT SHALL WE DO? 


Shall we appeal to them, the people of poetry and thought, 
in the name of their thinkers and poets? In vain. The 
prejudices which we thought dead have given birth to thou- 
sands of others, as worms multiply in the dust. Turn the right 
cheek if they strike us on the left? In vain! They would 
be neither touched, nor troubled, nor disarmed. They would 
Strike us again, quite simply, on the right cheek too. Utter, 
in the midst of this outcry, a word of common sense? In 
vain! They will say: “Look at him slobbering. Shut his 
mouth up for him.” Set, in our conduct, the most perfect 
of examples? In vain. They will say: “We don’t know any- 
thing, we haven’t seen anything, we haven’t heard anything.” 
Seek obscurity? In vain. They will say: “He hides himself, 
the coward. His conscience must be troubling him.” Ap- 
proach them, frankly, with outstretched and open hand? In 
vain. They will say: “What tactlessness! How clearly you 
See the insensitive Jew!” Help them to shake off their chains? 
In vain. They will say: “How much did he make out of it?” 
Be faithful to them in peace, faithful in war? In vain. They 


360 THE MODERN EPOCH 


will say: “He can turn his hand to everything. He is pro- 
tean.” Live for them, die for them? In vain. They will 
say: “The Jew remains a Jew, first and last.”’ (Jacob Wasser- 
mann, Mein Weg als Deutscher und Jude.) 


BARUCH OF MAYENCE 


Here are the graves. And here is thy grave too. 
Three days ago their bloody sacrifices 

Were brought here to be thrust into the earth. 
Thou too art buried here, my dearest one! 
Not even a Star of Zion marks the spot. 

Yet I have found thee. . . . Secretly I came, 
And not one living eye has seen my coming. 

I came to tell thee all that chanced to me 
Since the dread day whereon I met my death. . . . 
For I am dead! And I who speak to thee— 
Iam no longer I... . Iam another. ... 


Dost thou remember yet the desolate day, 

The day of wrath, when God abandoned me? 

On that day all the bells throughout the land 

Woke storm and tumult with their evil tidings. 

And wild one bell unto the other called, 

“Woe to the daughter of the House of Jacob!” 

And in the streets the thronging multitudes, 

Peasant and soldier, artisan and priest, 

Gathered like famished wolves about their prey— 

Deaf to the weeping of the children, deaf 

To the moaning of the mothers, blind and deaf 

To age and sickness. And about the victims, 

Spattered with foulness, driven torn and bleeding, 

They howled like wolves for blood, for blood, for 
slaughter! 

And suddenly a poignard flashed before me, 

A band was gathered round me, and one voice 

Above the others howled the question at me. 

I saw their wild-beast faces. And I. saw 


JEWISH LIFE IN J EWISH LITERATURE 


The hand outstretched, the poignard at my throat. 


And I made answer in a stifled voice, 
And what I answered I remember not. 
But I remember now their house of prayer, 
The pealing of the organ, candle-lights . . . 
A multitude of voices like a sea, 
The priests, the cowls, the singing of the monks— 
And in me the bewilderment of death. 
And then I cursed my people and my God. 
I cursed the breasts that once had suckled me. 
And all that had been sacred to my fathers, 
I spat upon; pronounced anathema 
Against the hopes and longings that had been 
Until that day the dearest of my life. | 
Yea, I denied my people and my God, 
The God of holiness. 

Then suddenly 
My childhood rose to life before my eyes. 
And I was young again. I was a boy 
Awaiting my Bar-mitzvah, and again 
For the first time I bound upon my arm 
The Tephilin; and I saw my father’s face 
Shining with happiness. And through my flesh 
There ran a thrill of joy and holy pride. 
For I was now a man, and on my shoulders 
Rested the sacred burden of the Law, 
The Torah of my Maker and Redeemer. 
What strength was in my soul! In all the world 
That day, there was no happiness like mine. | 
And as I bound the Tephilin on my arm 
I counted: One, two, three . . . and seven times 
I wound them on my flesh, and drew them tight 
Until the skin beneath was flecked with blood. 
“Behold I bind thee unto Me forever!” 
And I had shamed the bond God made with me. 
“I bind thee unto me in faithfulness!” 
And I was faithless in the day of trial. 


C) e co) 6 4 


361 


362 THE MODERN EPOCH 


Listen, dear heart; listen, my dearest one, 

For now thou wakest. I have brought with me 
Tidings of horror. Listen, dearest one, 

And I will whisper to thee. Dost thou know? 
Our children, our two daughters, now are free. . . . 
My hand gave back the freedom to their souls. 
Miriam rebelled at first, and Zipporah 

Clung to her sister and looked long at me 

As if imploring mercy. . . . She was first. 

I could not bear the pleading in her eyes. ... 
. My daughters, O my daughters, turn from me! 
Mine eyes are seared. One vision like a flame 
Burns up my brain, and withers with its fury 
My heart, my blood, my strength. 


ihe am foe an tHe Mathew eHO 

With his own hand his daughters slew. 

The knife was firm and trembled not 

Until the hilt with blood was hot. 

The lives which God to gladness gave 

I have imprisoned in the grave: 

I could not, dared not let them live, 

Their young and stainless spirits give 

A prey to those whose hands were red 

With bloody guilt of human dead... . 

O well for thee, in darkness set! 

Rememberest thou thy daughters yet? . 
O my daughters, my alates my daughters! 


ACcreed be thot pare ever, Reeruel rate 

Accursed for ever be thy evil name! 

The wrath of God shall dwell with thee for ever. 

The blood that thou hast sacrificed, the tears, 

The moaning of thy victims, shall arise 

In one wild flood against thee, and the sound 

Shall be a horror in the stormy night. 

Ha! How fearful is the night! 

Here in the dark I feel 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 


The cold that cuts into my heart 
Like driven steel. 

But through the town are crimson flames 
As from a furnace blown. 

And the hand that lit the furnace there 
Was mine alone. 

Look! The dull-glowing clouds of smoke 
Roll further, higher. 

The monastery burns and wraps 
The town in fire. 

When I had lit the funeral pile 
I lingered there 

And joy was in my heart to watch 
Their fierce despair! 

How good, how good, to mark the bitter tears 
The holy fathers shed! 

To hear the wailing and the wild lamenting 
For the dead! 

I laughed to see one man wrapped up 
In flames as in a mesh, 

Screaming he ran, and as he ran 
The fire devoured his flesh. 

Oh, long I laughed remembering 
The horrible eyes, 

The terror and the flight, the prayers, 
The dying cries. 


And when the altar was prepared 

Then did I bring 
Two daughters for a sacrifice— 

A burnt offering. | 
Then from the town I came to thee. 
Arise, dear heart, return with me. 

The flames I lit are burning bright, 
Arise, and we will walk in light. 

And where the flames the fiercest burn, 
Thy daughters wait for thy return... . 


—SH. TCHERNICHOWSKY. 


363 


364 


THE MODERN EPOCH 


NIGHT 


I know that this my crying, like the crying 

Of owls on ruins in a wilderness, 

Wakes neither consolation nor despair. 

I know that these my tears are as a cloud 

Of barren waters in a desert land, 

That my lament, grown old with many years, 
Is strengthless in the stony hearts of men... . 
Still the unhappy heart in vain laments 

And seeks in vain to weep itself to rest. 


From my pent prison I put forth my head 

And call unto the storm and question it, 

And search the clouds and with the gloom confer— 
When will the darkness and the tempest pass? 
When will the whirlwind die and the clouds scatter 
And moon and stars break forth again in light? 

I search from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven: 
No sign, or answer—only storm and night. 


Within the womb God consecrated me 

To sickness and to poverty and said: 

Go forth and find thy vanished destiny. 

Among the ways of life buy air to breathe 

And steal with craft a beggar’s dole of light, 

Carry from door to door thy beggar’s pack: 
Before the wealthy crook the knees for bread. . . . 
But I am weary now with wandering: 

Ah, God, my God, how long is yet the road? 


From the dark womb, like an uncleanliness, 

On a heap of gathered foulness I was cast, 
Unwashed from filth, with rags for swaddling-clothes, 
My mother stretched to me a withered breast 

And stilled me with the bitter milk of madness. 

And in my heart a viper made its nest 

And sucks my blood to render it in poison. 

Where can I hide me from its burning fangs? 

God! answer me with either life or death. 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 365 


In the broad sky the light clouds are unravelled 
And stars among them are like single pearls. 

The wind moves dreamlike in the tranquil darkness 
And in the wind still broods the peace of God. 
And a faint whisper, like a secret kiss, 

Laden with revelation, stirs the grass, 

And sleep that heals and comforts falls on earth— 
But not on me, the outcast,—not on me. 


In the dead night-time I begin my song, 

When two alone awake, my pain and I. 

Beneath my skin my bones are turned to dust, 
My weak eyes fall, for they have wept too long. 
Now my song wakens like a bird at dawn, 

Her dewy wings beat rain into my heart 

And melt the tear-drops on my frozen eyes... 
In vain, in vain, for tears alone I know. 


Bring me not rain-drops, but a fount of tears, 

Tears that will shake the hearts of men with storm; 

Then by the ancient mounds of desolation, 

By the ruined Temple, by my fathers’ graves, 

Where the road passes I will take my stand, 

And travellers on the road will pity me, 

And charity will waken with their pity. 

There let men hear thee, O my song, until 

Thy tears are ended and my pain is stilled. 
—Cu. N. Braix. 


THE FROGS 


Quark, quark, quark, quark. . . . Listen to the joyous croak- 
ing 

Of the Frogs, 

Of the cold Frogs, the sleek, cold Frogs. 

How goodly are they in their own eyes, 

Hopping and dancing in their bed of ooze, 

Fat with delight of mud, drunk with the smell of mud, 

Chanting, great-hearted and full-voiced, chanting 

The righteousness of the Frogs, the wisdom of the Frogs. 


366 THE MODERN EPOCH 


If you do not know the Frog-folk, 

Then listen, I will tell you of them. 
Though in form and colour they be diverse, 
By these signs, the signs of the Frog-folk, 
May they all be known: 

Narrow head and mighty paunch, 

And great glass eyes, 

Eyes bulging with greed, 

And, in their eyes, treachery and terror. 


And do you know their dwelling-place, 

The dwelling-place of the Frogs? 

Do you think they inhabit the deep heart of ocean, 

That they stir and rouse to anger the heart of ocean, 

Like children of Leviathan? Oh, no! 

But yonder they dwell, on the edges of the ponds and marshes, 
Yonder, where for water there is noisome stagnation, 

Where the ooze at its deepest comes up to the hips, 

Where sunlight is changed into treacherous twilight, 

Where malodorous vapours, vapours of sickness, bubble up; 
There the Frog-folk swarm and spawn. 

The foul waters of the ditches are living waters to them, 
Darkness is light; a delight and an ecstasy 

Is the slime of the depths, the odour of filth. 

Multitudes, countless multitudes, wander in the darkness 

In quest of booty—the booty of mudworms. | 

And for the sake of booty Frog quarrels with Frog, 

And for the sake of booty there is love between them. 


And do you know the righteousness of the Frogs? 
He that hunts the mudworm most, 

He that puffs himself up most, 

He is righteous. 

Him the congregation holds in honour, 

And his praises are sung by the sons of mud. 


And do you know the wisdom of the Frogs? 
He that is best at singing the song of the Frogs— 
He is the wisest. 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 367 


And if you, my brother, know not the song of the Frogs, 
I know it. 

Oh, many a long day did God condemn me 

To dwell among the marshes, 

Many a long day have I stood there, silent, listening, 
Listening to the song of the Frogs and learning it. 

And this is the song of the Frogs. 


Quark, quark, quark, quark! 

Life is smooth and cool and dark! 
Leave fantastic dreams alone 
And mind no business but your own. 
For wisdom’s aim, the wise one knows, 
Is obedience—and repose. 

Quark, quark, quark, quark! 


For what will be, has been. 
Nothing the wisdom of old surpasses; 
Our fathers were wise, and their children.are asses. 
Eternal their laws, beyond question or doubt; 
Our business is only to carry them out. 
And what has been, will be. 


How goodly is our lot! 
What could be better than this our dance 
Which is our ancient inheritance? 
’Tis full of logic, of common sense, 
And wisdom and experience. 
How goodly is our lot! 


Long live the world of mud! 
What pleasure or temptation lies 
In deserts, or seas, or open skies? 
But bless the mud that shelters one 
From tempests and the burning sun. 
Long live the world of mud! 


Quark, quark, quark, quark! 
Life is smooth, and cool, and dark! 


368 THE MODERN EPOCH 


This is the song of the Frogs, but wait a little, brother, 

I will reveal to you the soul of the Frogs. 

Not in the likeness of fire is their soul, of a flame 

Lifting arms towards the sun. 

Its likeness is the aftermath of fire, 

A handful of ashes, smoke and sparks. . . . 

And the sparks glow in the ashes, 

Ascend in the smoke, 

And whirl and wander and fall, and are swiftly extinguished. 


Wait a little longer, and I will tell you, O knowledge-hungry . 
one, 

What lies in the heart of the Frog. 

Do you think that they search the deeps of the golden heavens, 

That they wander free under the golden heavens 

In the greatness of love, in utter devotion, 

Like the children of eagles? Oh, no! 


One cubit, two cubits 

They hop at times from the edge of the swamp 
Into the green couch by the shadow of rushes; 
There for a brief hour they doze in the sunlight, 
Dreaming. 

(Who knows what crazy sun-dreams 

Are born then in the tiny reptiles?) 

There they taste in stealth 

The joy of the forbidden . . . 

Till a sunbeam by chance scorches them, 

Or a light sound startles them, 

The sound of a bird’s wing, footstep of man or beast— 
Oh, then! Repenting bitterly of their indiscretion, 
Hop! hop! back into the marsh! 


Ho, ho, how good it is 

To see them in the terror of that moment, 

To see the sickness and confusion in their hearts! 

Ho, ho! How good, how good it is 

To mark and consider this unhappy race, 

To consider its ways, its lusts, its wanderings and movements, 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 369 


To hear the noises of its idiot multitudes, 
And to laugh! Out of the wells of the free and living heart, 
to laugh! 


What? . . . Is this a thing for laughter? 

Nay, it is a thing to smite/ 

For hear my words, O House of the F ree, 

And ye Children of the light, hearken to my prophecy! 

A day approaches, and it is near at hand, a day of visitation, 
And the Lord will send the Frogs upon us! 

Then all the marshes will spawn Frogs, 

And they will come up from the marshes and into our houses, 
And into out eating and our drinking. 

And the croaking of them will deafen our ears, 

Till a man will not hear the words of his brother. 

And the odour of slime will spread about the earth 

Till the air will be a stink in our nostrils. 

And this plague of the Frogs will be 

Of all the plagues the greatest that has smitten earth 

Since the day when the first man and woman did eat 

Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil... . 


Let us arm to-day! Let us fight the Frogs with light! 
We will draw the sun out from his course 

And with his burning beams dry up the marshes, 
And the Frogs will die. 


And if it be that God denies His mercy to no living thing, 
And He has appointed for every living thing a place 
In the order of His mighty kingdom, | 
Yea, and even for the Frogs has taken thought 
That their memory and their remnant shall not be cut off, 
Then let the Frogs remain in their appointed place! 
But our boundary, which is the boundary of the sun, 
They shall not cross, and from all our land 
They shall be wiped away, and hunted into the rivers, 
And only in the rivers shall they dwell. 

—J. CoHEN. 


370 THE MODERN EPOCH 


THE DEAD OF THE WILDERNESS + 


Yonder great shadow—that blot on the passionate glare of 


the desert— 

*Tis not an army of lions couched in the sun with their young 
ones, 

"Tis not the pride of the forests of Bashan uprooted and 
fallen: | 

Those are the Dead of the Wilderness under the sunlight re- 
cumbent. 

Hard by their tents are they laid, like children of Anak for 
stature, 

Stretched on the desolate sands like numberless lions in slum- 
ber; 

Wnder the might of their limbs the floor of the desert is hol- 
lowed. 

Armed as for battle they sleep and clad in the armour of 
giants; 


Swords like to crags at their heads and spears twixt their 
shoulders protruding, 

Sound to their girdle the quiver and firm in the sand is the 
lance thrust. 


Deep in the earth are their heads sunk, heavy with tangles 
neglected, 

Matted and monstrous and vast, and uncouth as the mane of 
a lion; 

Matted and monstrous and vast are their beards like to tangles 
of serpents. 

Strong are their faces and burnished, and darkened to bronze 
are their eyelids, 

Targets to arrows of sunlight and rocks to the fury of tem- 
pests. 

Hard are their foreheads and grim and changeless upturned to 
the heavens, 


1 The subject of this poem is derived from a Talmudic legend which says 
that the Jews who left Egypt did not die in the desert, as the Bible tells, but 
were cast into slumber.—(Tr.) 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 371 


Eyes that are cruel and terrible peer through the tangle of 
eyebrows. 

Cast as of lava upthrown from volcanoes and hardened their 
breasts are 

Lifted like anvils of iron that wait for the blow of the hammer; 

Yet though the hammer of time beats long and unceasing upon 
them, 

Like to the stone that enfolds it the strength of their hearts 
sleeps for ever. 

Only the faces unmoving, the breasts multitudinous, naked, 

Strangely are covered, like ancient memorials, with runes of 
the desert 

Graven by arrows and swords which the tempests have tossed 

and uplifted. 

And when the eagle descends in his flight to behold he shall 
read there, 

Graven on breast and on brow, the tale of unbroken endur- 
ance, 

How many arrows and spears these breasts have encountered 
and shattered. 


Sunlight and darkness revolve and cycle succeeds unto cycle, 

Stormwinds awake and are stilled and the desert turns back to 
its silence. 

Far stand the crags, as amazed in beholding the first things 
created, 

Clothed by the silence with splendor, the proud, the eternally 
lonely, 

Limitless, limitless stretches the wilderness, lifeless and sound- 
less. | 

Lost to the end of all time is the jubilant voice of the giants, 

Laid into stillness for ever the tumult that followed their foot- 
steps; 

Where they once trod are now lifted the sandhills and crags 

of the desert. 

Silence has breathed on the mighty and cast into slumber their 
flerceness, 

And the hot winds of the desert eaten their strength and their 
beauty. 


372 THE MODERN EPOCH 


Fierce burns the sun on the blades gigantic and wears them to 
brightness; 

Blinding arrows of sunlight shot at the heads of the lances 

Break into myriads of sparks that are dashed on the breasts 
of the sleepers 

Lying there bared to the desolate sunlight for ever and ever. 

Dried by the withering east-wind, dust of their bodies is lifted, 

Whirled into other lands, scattered under the footsteps. of 
pygmies; 

Jackals there nuzzle with unclean snouts in the ruins of heroes. 

No one remembers among them the old generation of giants 

Fallen and turned into voiceless stone in the sands of the 
desertyy io 


Sometimes a shadow is born alone on the face of the desert, 

Floats on the sands till it reaches the ranks of the army of 
sleepers, 

Trembles a moment above them and breaks into circles of 
motion, 

Suddenly chooses a body outstretched and over it stands and 
is moveless; 

And the body beneath it is darkened and half of its neigh- 
bour. 

Suddenly quivers the air as the pinions stupendous are folded. 

Full with his weight like a meteor descending he falls on his 
victim— 

One of the eagle-kings, crag-born, crooked of beak and of 
talon. 

Over the breast of the sleeper a granite-like talon is lifted : 

Yet but an instant and granite on granite will ring in the 
stillness; 

And in that instant he pauses and stands with his talon up- 
lifted, 

Stilled and rebuked in his pride by the loftier pride of the 
sleeper; 

Wondering stands, then unfolds the strength of his pinions 
and rises, 

Beating great waves through the air and screaming in stretches 
of sunlight, 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 373 


Scales untiring the measureless heights and is lost in the splen- 
dour. 

Long, long after still flutters, held fast on the point of a lance- 
head 

One grey feather that fell unseen and unmarked was abandoned, 

Flutters and strains at the lance-head and fluttering earth- 
wards is wafted. 

Silence returns to the desert and peace to the sleep of the 
heroes. 


Sometimes when midday is hot and the desert swoons under 
the sunlight, 
Slides from its fastness a serpent, vast as the beam of a 
_ weaver, 
Issues to warm on the sands the glistening rings of his body. 
Now he shrinks on himself, coils himself moveless and breath- 


less, 

Languid with joy in the warmth and bathing in light as in 
waters; 

Now he wakes and uncoils and stretches his length in the 
sunlight, 


Opens the width of his jaws and his scales are like network of 
lightnings, 

Spangled and knitted in splendor, a lonely delight in the desert. 

Sudden he starts from his languor, leaps into rigid attention, 

Bends and unwinds on the sand, then swiftly he glides from his 
station 

Over the waste, till he reaches the army of sleepers and stands 
then, 

Lifted one-third in the air, like a column of bright hieroglyph- 
ics, 

Raises his crown and outstretches his neck and his eyeballs 
green sparkle. 

Swaying he broods on the slumbering army from margin to 
margin. 

Vast is the soundless encampment and countless the dead it 
encloses, 

Numberless, numberless faces and foreheads exposed to the 
heavens. 


374 THE MODERN EPOCH 


Then like a flash reawakens the hatred of dead generations, 
Gleams in the start of his eyes like a brand that is sudden 


uncovered. | 

Hatred instinctive and ancient runs through the shuddering 
body. 

Trembling he lowers his head and darts with it hither and 
thither, 

Hangs then suspended an instant and stares in the face of a 
sleeper. 

Under their hoods are his eyeballs twin centres of hatred and 
fury; 

Hissing he opens his jaws and the flash of his fangs is un- 
covered— . 


And in that instant he pauses, sinks on the coils of his body, 

Stilled and rebuked in his rage by the bitterer rage of the 
sleeper,— | 

Sinks and uncircles his length and turns from the visage of 
granite, 

Moves off, a rhythm of waves till his splendour is lost in the 
distance. 

Silence returns to the desert and peace to the sleep of the 
heroes. 


Moonlight descends on the waste and sleeps on the measureless 


broadness, 

Lays on the desert a garment speckled with light and with 
shadow. 

Pallid the wilderness league after league rolls from dimness to 
dimness. 

Broad at the foot of the towering crags are their shadows 
recumbent, 

Couched like dragons primeval, things from the dawn of crea- 
tion. 

Gathered in monstrous conspiracy under the cover of dark- 
ness— | 

They will arise ere the morning, return to the caverns they 
came from. 


Mournful the moon from her loneliness looks on the mystery 
threefold— 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 375 


Wilderness, maidnight and monsters crept out from the dawn 
of creation. 

Lapped is the desert in merciless dreams of its old desolation, 

Wails in its dreams, and its wailing half-uttered is broken and 
stifled. 


Sometimes a wandering lion, thewed as with roots of an oak 
tree, 

Massive and certain of footstep comes down to the army and 
stands there, 

Raises his head from his shoulders, heavy, magnificent-crested. 

Fitfully gleam the two eyeballs over the enemy army; 

Vast is the army outspread and its vastness is utterly silent; 

Dark is the sleep of the heroes, there is not an eyelid aflutter. 

Shadows of lances, like thongs, are close on their bodies and 
bind them. 

Moonlight is spilled on their faces and rims the black mass 
of their eyebrows. 

Stonelike in wonder the lion stares at their slumbering power, 

Till from his wonder awaking he shakes with his roaring the 
desert, 

Startling the mountains and setting the flanks of the desert 
atremble. 

Far pours the strength of his voice, and the crags in the dis- 
tance give answer, 

Hither and thither is rolled till it crumbles in fragments of 
thunder. 

Then in a wailing responsive arises the cry of the jackals, 

Mingles with howling of beasts till the night-time is hideous 
with voices— 

This is the wail of the desert, a desperate protest and bitter, 

Worn with the infinite vigil and weary with long desolation. 

Still stands the lion, intent on the tumult his strength has 
awakened; 

Silent he turns from the dead and is kingly again in his silence, 

Turns and departs like.a king and his eyes are like torches 
attendant, 

Massive and certain of step departs and is lost in the dark- 
ness. 


376 THE MODERN EPOCH 


Long is the desert awake and its bitterness will not be silenced, 

Long it moans for its ancient pain and the comfortless future. 

Dawn returns and the desert is weary from moaning, and 
slumbers, 

Slumbers and yet is awake, and shrinks from the day and its 
evil. 

Slow dies the moon in her pallor and droops to the rim of 
the heavens; 

Stealthy the shadows arise from under the crags, and they are 
not. 

Gaunt stand the rocks to the morning and anger is written 
upon them; 

Under the wrath of their looks the desert is timid and trembles, 
Strains to answer with anger responsive and fails and is voice- 
less, | 
Stilled by the shattering sun. And silence returns as for ever. 
Deep is the sleep of the heroes . . . and cycle succeeds unto 

cycle. 


But there are moments when, tortured too long by the silence 
eternal, 

Wild with unbearable sickness of eons, the desert uprises, 

Wakens and rages for vengeance against the inhuman Creator, 

Raises a column of sand to ascend to the fastness of heaven, 

Once and for ever to meet Him and shatter the throne of His 
glory, 

Once for the torture eternal to loose the floods of its fury, 

Sweep his whole world into darkness and bring back the king- 
dom of chaos. ... 

Then the Creator is stirred, and His anger envelops the 
heavens, 

Like a great cover of iron, He bends them to blot out the 
desert. 

Red from the blast of His breath, the flame of His anger out- 
breaking 

Wraps the desert in fury and scatters its crags in a furnace. 

Stubborn and bitter the desert responds, and new furies are 
loosened, 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 377 


Rise from the bowels of Hell, and all earth is in fury con- 
founded. 

Seized by the madness that spins like a vehement wheel in the 
vastness 

Tigers and lions, with manes unlifted and eyeballs aglitter, 

Join in the riot infernal, and howl with the voice of the 
tempest, 

Lifted and torn by the strength of the tempest like gossamer 
insects. 

And in that instant— 

Wakes the terrible power that slumbered in chains, 

Suddenly stirs and arises the old generation of heroes, 

Mighty in battle: their eyes are like lightning, like blades are 
their faces. 

Then flies the hand to the sword. 

Sixty myriads of voices—a thunder of heroes—awaken, 

Crash through the tempest and tear asunder the rage of the 
desert. 

Round them is wildness and blindness: 

; And they cry 

“We are the mighty! 

The last generation of slaves and the first generation of free- 
men! h 

Alone our hand in its strength 

Tore from the pride of our shoulders the yoke of bondage. 

We lifted our heads to the heavens and behold their broadness 
was narrow in the pride of our eyes, 

So we turned to the desert, we said to the Wilderness: 
‘Mother!’ 

Yea, on the tops of the crags, in the thickness of clouds, __ 

With the eagles of heaven we drank from her fountains of 
freedom. 

And who is lord of us? 

Even now, though the God of vengeance has shut the desert 
upon us, 

A song of strength and revolt has reached us, and we arise. 

To arms! To arms! Form ranks! Forward! 

Forward into the heavens and the wrath thereof. 


378 THE MODERN EPOCH 


Behold us! We will ascend 

With the tempest! 

Though the Lord has withdrawn His hand from us, 

And the Ark stands moveless in its place, 

Still we will ascend—alone! 

Even under the eye of His wrath, daring the lightning of His 
countenance, 

We will carry with storm the citadels of the hills, 

And face to face in combat encounter the armed foe! 

Listen! 

The storm, too, calls unto us—‘Courage and daring!’ 

To arms! Toarms! Let the hills be shattered and the moun- 
tains blasted into dust, 

Or let our lifeless bodies be heaped in countless cairns. 

Forward! ! 

On to the hills!” 


And in that instant the desert is wild with a fierce anger— 
And who shall conquer it? 
In the storm goes up a terrible voice, a mingling of cries. 
It must surely be 
That the desert is bringing to birth a deed of evil, 
A bitter thing, a cruel and a terrible... . 


Passed is the tempest. The desert is silent, and pure is the 
silence. 

Bright is the broadness of heaven, and marvellous quiet be- 
neath it. 

Now from their terror awaking, the caravans trapped in the 
tempest 

Rise from their crouching and call on their God and adore 
Him and praise Him. 

Still in the sand are the sixty myriads of heroes aslumber. 

Darkened their faces, for death has brought them to peace 
with their Maker. 

No man knoweth the place of their slumber. The crags of 
the desert, 

Split by the strength of their rising, over them closed in their 
falling. 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 379 


Sometimes a rider, in daring adventure his caravan leaving, 
Spurs his horse ever onwards and enters the heart of the desert. 
Strong is the heart of the rider, and swift is the horse to the 


spurring. 

Riding he flings up his spear in the sunlight, and takes it 
descending, 

Throws it and takes it again, and throws it again and pursues 
it;. 


Like to a river of lightning it flashes and dances before him. 
Far in the distance a vision appears, and the horse is drawn 


onwards, 

Mounts with its rider a hill the clouds overtopping—and 
sudden, 

Quivering it pauses and looks, then bounds to the rear by its 
whole length. 


Startled the rider uplifts his hand for a shadow and gazes. . 
Stonelike he stands with his horse, and the terror of God is 
-upon him. 
Then leaps the horse in its strength and, turning, descends like 
an arrow. . . 
Fast spurs the rider and halts not until, with his caravan 
meeting, 
Swift he dismounts and tells of the vision he saw in the still- 
ness. 
Marvelling listen the Arabs, and wonder is writ on their faces. 
Then speaks the oldest amongst them, a patriarch sprung from 
the Prophet, 
Answers the tale of the rider: ‘Blessed be Allah the True One; 
For by the Beard of the Prophet, it was not a vision thou 
sawest. 
Those are the Dead of the Wilderness thou hast discovered and 
gazed on. 
This was the host of the Lord, a people of valour gigantic, 
Older than man can remember—yea, of the first genera- 
tions, 
Stubborn and strong was this people, stiff-necked as the crags 
of the desert, 
Deaf to the word of their Prophet, and proud with the God 
of their fathers, 


380 THE MODERN EPOCH 


Therefore He cast sleep upon them, and sealed up their path 
with the mountains, 

Laid His command on the wilderness for a memorial eter- 
Nabe wise 

Allah protect true Believers from touching the hem of their 
garments. 

Once did a son of the Faithful lay hand on a fringe and up- 
lift it. 

Withered his body became till the fringe was restored to the 
sleeper. 

These are the sires of the race of the Book. . . .” 

Then the speaker is silent, 

Wordless the Arabs have heard, and they tremble and give 
praise to Allah. 

Silent they walk at the side of their camels to weariness laden. 

Long is the whiteness that gleams on their hoods to be seen 
in the distance. 

Slow sway the camels their monstrous backs till they fail in 
the brightness, 

Bearing away from the desert one more of its marvellous 
legends. 

Stillness returns as of old. Desolate stretches the desert. 

—Cu. N. Bratix. 


OUT OF MY HOUSE 


Out of my house 
Lonely I wandered— 
And on a sudden, 
Wherefore I know not, 
Sadness and tenderness 
Glowing and infinite, 
Rose in my heart; 
Till overflowing 

Love and compassion 
Seemed from my heart 
Earthward to bear 
Burdens of anguish 
Age-long endured, 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 381 


Burning and bloody, 
Age-long endured. 


Silent I looked on 
Faces that passed me, 
Saw on them written 
Sorrows unuttered, 
Saw on them clearly 
Tears still undried: 
Pale, multitudinous, 
Drifted the faces, 
Changing, rechanging. 
One I beheld not— 
Multitudes drifting— 
One I beheld not 

Out of the multitudes 
Stranger to pain. 


Wrinkled the faces, 
Meagre and bloodless, 
Shadowed the foreheads 
Bitter the lips, 

Eyes over all 

Brooding abysmal— 
Deeps of despair, 

Dens of emotions, 
Refuge of dreams. 
Wordless the faces 
Spoke and declared 
Sorrows uncounted, 
Humiliations, 

Hopes unfulfilable, 
Dreams done to death. .. . 
Clearly I learned it: 

All of their eyes were 
Fountains of tears, 

All of their hearts were 
Graves of desire. 

All of the multitude, 


382 


THE MODERN EPOCH 


Dust of mortality, 
Out of the multitude, 
Numberless drifting, 
One I beheld not 
Stranger to pain. 


Children amongst them! 
Young birds of Paradise, 
Angels of guilelessness; 
Bells are their golden tones, 
Bells of futurity; 

Flesh that is blossoming, 
Glances clear-sparkling, 
Laughter still ringing 
Sinless and sacred. 

Even on them I see, 
Darkling between their eyes— 
Comfortless heritage— 
Shadows awaking, 

Shadows of pain. . 
Countless the tears these 
Eyes have already shed! 
Countless the sorrows, 
Countless, remorseless, 
Waiting to wither these 
Blossoms of youth. 


Out of my house 
Lonely I wandered— 
And on a sudden, 
Wherefore I know not, 
Sadness and tenderness 
Glowing and infinite, 
Rose in my heart; 

Till overflowing 

Love and compassion 
Seemed from my heart 
Earthward to bear 
Burdens of anguish 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 383 


Age-long endured, 
Burdens of anguish, 
Burning and bloody, 
Age-long endured. . . . 
—J. CoHEN. 


MOSES AND JESUS 


In dream I saw two Jews that met by chance, 
One old, stern-eyed, deep-browed, yet garlanded 
With living light of love around his head. 

The other young, with sweet, seraphic glance. 
Around went on the town’s satanic dance, 
Hunger a-piping while at heart he bled. 

Shalom Aleichem mournfully each said, 

Nor eyed the other straight, and looked askance. 


Sudden from Church outrolled an organ hymn, 
From synagogue a loudly chaunted air, 

Each with its Prophet’s high acclaim instinct. 
Then for the first time met their eyes, swift-linked 
In one strange, silent, piteous gaze, and dim 
With bitter tears of agonized despair. 


—ISRAEL ZANGWILL. 


THE ETERNAL PEOPLE 


Numerous peoples and powerful kingdoms have disappeared, 
have gone down when their day came, and have not risen again 
before those that destroyed them; and many another people, 
when its day comes, will go down and be lost. But Israel will 
still live, for the breath of life is in him. 

When he was driven from his land, when kingdom and 
liberty were taken from him, he still refused to utter the 
word of despair; for a new idea broke into blossom above the 
tombs of his forefathers, above the ruins of his cities and 
above his desolate land: the day of his defeat was the day 


384 THE MODERN EPOCH 


of a new hope. And while the body crumbled in the dust, 
he took courage, fashioned for himself a heart of bronze, 
which could resist both of the arrows of hate and the fires 
of the most terrible wars. (Perez Smolenskin, An Eternal 
People.) 


THE RING OF IMMORTALITY 


Three times Sufrah invoked the name of Solomon. At once 
the slab rose and Sufrah went down by a narrow stairway 
into the bowels of the earth. Two fiery dogs sprang out of 
their opposite corners, the flames of their breath intertwining. 
Sufrah uttered the magic name, and the dogs disappeared, 
growling. Then he came upon an iron door, which opened 
silently under his touch. He went down the length of a 
corridor cut out in the porphyry. Seven-branched candle- 
sticks burned with an eternal light. At the end of the corridor 
there was a square chamber, with walls of jasper. In the 
centre a golden brazier shed a rich light. And on a bed made 
of a single cut diamond lay stretched out an ancient form, 
white-bearded, and crowned. . . . On the hand of Solomon, 
which hung down, Sufrah saw blazing the Great Seal. He drew 
near on his knees and, raising himself to the height of the bed, 
he lifted the wrinkled hand, slipped off the ring, and made it 
his own. At once the dark prophecy of the geomancer was ful- 
filled. The immortal sleep of King Solomon was broken. Orf 
the instant his body withered and crumbled into a heap of 
white and polished bones. . . . But Sufrah, smitten to earth, 
poured forth his lifeblood in a single, crimson wave, and fell 
into the slumber of earthly immortality. With the seal of 
Solomon on his finger, he lay stretched out by the bed of 
diamond, preserved from putrefaction for countless thousands 
of years, in this sealed and secret place. . . . The iron door 
fell back upon the corridor of porphyry, and the fiery dogs 
took up their watch above the immortal geomancer. (Marcel 
Schwob, Vies Imaginaires.) 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 385 


THE VISION OF ISAAC 


Then Isaac blessed his son, his sons, and all 
Their seed to come, and turned him to the wall, 
Weary and blind and deaf—for he had known 
Much evil for God’s name, the Holy One. 
Now, full of days, he waited God should send 
His messenger, the herald of the end. 


But when the Angel of the Lord drew nigh 
He touched the dying man on brow and eye, 
And straightway Isaac felt the vigorous flood 
Of early youth returning to his. blood; 

The weariness, the blindness and the pain 
Departed, and he knew the light again. 


The walls dissolved, and in the wilds of space 
The dying Father saw his scattered race 
Through all the climes beneath the eye of heaven, 
From land to land, through field and forest driven: 
In distant cities, upon hills and plains 

The long procession of their bloody chains. 

And far across the ages to him came 

The chorus of their agony and shame. 


“Isaac, our father, wherefore didst thou give 
Thy children life, when none will let us live? 

In all the teeming fruitfulness of earth 

No share for those who blame thee for their birth: 
From land to land by restless hatred blown, 
While banishment divides us from our own. 


“We are the sport of children: cowards speak 
Heroic words of insult to the weak. 

Our bodies on our spirits levy toll: 

The slavish gesture breeds the slavish soul. 


“On the long road of exile and of pain 
We sought a hand of brotherhood in vain. 


386 


THE MODERN EPOCH 


The light which came in flashes to reveal 
A pathway, was the light of fire and steel. 


“The passion of our supplication rends 
The sky, but no deliverer descends. 
Others that live can sing: alone we try 
The horrors of the grave before we die.” 


In ceaseless waves the lamentation broke 
On Isaac’s ears, and in his dream he spoke: 


“Where is Thy promise, Father, which decreed 
A land of oil and palm-trees for my seed? 

Is that land lost? Or do they seek it yet? 
Deep be the sins that such a fate beget. 


“When on the altar-stone my father laid 
The son of his old age, thine angel stayed 
At the last touch the sacrificial knife 

And gave me back my gladly-proffered life. 
But what avails Thy grace, if after me 

My children must rehearse my agony?” 


God answered Isaac: “If thy father’s heart 
Plead with me, I will change thy children’s part 
The mandate of their destiny efface, 

And set My seal upon another race. 


? 


“A fruitful land shall be thy sons’ abode, 
Another race shall learn the exile’s road; 
Thy sons shall feed on harvest and on fold, 
Another race shall hunger and be cold; 
Thy sons shall taste all joys the years afford, 
And others shall be eaten by the sword; 
Thy sons shall learn nobility and pride, 
And others shall be stoned and vilified ; 
Thy children shall forget the glooms profound 
In which their immortality is bound, 
Another race, in suffering and shame, 

Shall bear eternal witness to My name.” 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 387 


Thus thundered back the answer of the Lord; 

And Isaac spoke again—his dying word: 

“Lord, in Thy mercy be my words forgot, 

Change not my children’s heritage and lot. 

Let them live on, and if it be Thy will, 

Let them be shelterless and friendless still; 

Still let them be the sport of every race, 

But let them praise Thy name—and see Thy face.” 


Then God touched Isaac’s eyes, and Isaac died, 
And Jacob laid him down at Abraham’s side. 
—EDMOND FLEc. 


THE RESURRECTION 


The clear lamp of the evening star 
Hangs high in the eternal tent: 

Unflecked by any cloud the skies, 
The grass by any breath unbent. 


The fret and fever of the day 

Set with the setting of the sun: 
There’s rest and faith and earthly peace 

For all but thee, my only one... . 
Above the old, forgotten graves 

A bird has wakened now, and sings: 


And rippling like a pearly shower 
The silver of its music rings. 


“Peace to you, ancient graves! I bring 
A message from the world of light: 
Deep is the silence of your slumber, 
_ Deep is the darkness of your night. 


“But dark as is your slumber now, 
So glorious shall the morning rise, 
And pierce the dreams of death and silence 
That rest upon your moveless eyes. 


388 THE MODERN EPOCH 


“O hear me, in my flight I saw 
The great Messiah drawing near, 
And you that sleep in dust shall soon 
Start up to hear him calling clear!” 
O bird above the graves, how old, 
How foolish is thy happy song! 


“I see the great Messiah coming! .. . 
But oh, the road he takes is long. 


The wholly dead may patient wait, 
But there’s a people, sick and grey, 

Not wholly dead, not wholly living: 
Are saviors sent to such as they? 


No savior from without can come 
To those that live—and are enslaved. 
Their own Messiah they must be, 
And play the Savior and the saved. 
—S. Frue. 


THE MESSIAH 


In the dead of night I heard a sound of storm, 

A storm of shaken chains, 

The clash of link on link— 

The heavens were opened. 

And a great golden glory beat upon me suddenly, 

A splendour of beams was poured like a bursting tempest 
around me 

On all: confusion of crimson and blue. 

And I fell to the earth and bowed myself and kneeled. 


Behold, the Lord, the Lord God of Hosts, the Lord God 
Sabaoth, 

In the midst of amber and chrysolite, in the midst of crimson 
clouds, 

Clouds ascending and clouds descending— 

There above the flame that flickers like the whiteness of sap- 
phire 

Is the lofty and exalted Throne, 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 389 


The Moon is His footstool and the Sun the pillow of His head, 
And the folds of Him are spilled through the seven heavens. 
Thus in glory sits the Lord God of Hosts. . . . 

But who is this that is chained to the Throne on high, 

Who is this that is chained with chains of gold, 

With chains that will not break? 

It is our Lord, the King Messiah. . . . 


Lo, by thy signs, Messiah, I knew thee: 

By the fire that burns in thine eyes, 

(This is the sacred fire © 

That glows in the eyes of all that are singers, 

Of all that are seers, redeemers and prophets), 

By the spirit which is poured out upon thy brow, 

By the signal of pity in thy fallen cheeks, 

By the fierce sparks that play about thy lips: 

But, more than these, 

By the chains which are laid upon thine arms 
(Chains like these I saw once before, 

And they were laid upon the limbs of Prometheus 
Because he had brought down fire to the sons of man). 
By all these signs wert thou known to me, Messiah. 
Art thou not he, our Lord, the King Messiah? 


And a thousand years these chains, 

These chains of gold that will not break 

Have bound thee to the throne of the Lord God Sabaoth, 
Have bound thee that thou stir not. 

And from above thine eyes look down 

Upon all the furies and terrors of life 

That seize upon thy brothers, 


And thy hand is powerless to help. 

And daily, hourly, momently, 

As thine eyes see the new evils, 

And thine ears hear the crying of new blood 

Calling to thee from the earth, 

Thy soul, too, grows impotent within thee, 

And rage consumes thee like fire, and thy veins are convulsed 
And thou art filled with longing and desire, 


? 


390 THE MODERN EPOCH 


And thou girdest thyself with all thy strength 

To burst thy chains and break a way to freedom, 

That thou mightest descend swiftly to earth, 

To redeem and to deliver 

The oppressed from the oppressor, and the poor from those 
that rob them. 

And a voice is heard in the clashing of the links of thy chains, 

As often as thou strainest to burst them, 

As often as thou callest: “Now I can bear no more! 

Now I will descend, now I will come, now I will save! 

In a little while I will deliver them!” 

And behold thy straining is in vain, 

And thou fallest backward again, 

And all things become again as they were. 

And see, it is a thousand years that this voice is heard in the 
night, 

The sound of the straining at thy chains— 

And in the dead of night I too have heard. 


In the dead of night I have heard: “Lord God, Lord God, 
how long? 

I wither, I wither! 

Wherefore hast Thou breathed this soul into me? 

And wherefore hast Thou planted this heart in me? 

To feel all pain, all suffering, all evil, 

To bear the burden of all oppression, 

All unhappiness and all misfortune— 

And hast bound mine hands that I may not save? 

Wherefore hast Thou given me an eye that sees, 

And ears that listen, 

That I may see the generations and their tears, 

That I may hear the generations and their sighing, 

My heart wounded with the wounds of all men, 

And hast bound mine hands that I may not save? 

Wherefore hast Thou created this sea of wretchedness, 

All the evil and all the oppression, | 

Which mine eyes have looked upon from of old, 

And which mine eyes will look upon for the eternity to come, 

And hast breathed a spirit into me, 


JEWISH LIFE IN JEWISH LITERATURE 391 


To curse all evil and to blast it— 

But has set a seal upon my lips that I may not curse? 
Wherefore these countless multitudes of the unhappy 
Which are yet to be until the end of the generations, 
With the countless multitudes of their tears 

Which will yet be poured into the nether waters, 

And wherefore hast Thou made me to hear 

The great noise of their weeping which splitteth the rocks, 
And hast bound mine hands that I may not save? 
Wherefore hast Thou given me the strength 

To save and to redeem, to help and to rescue, 

To comfort those that mourn, 

To heal hearts that are broken, 

To bind up all sorrows— 

And hast laid chains upon mine arm? 

Lord God, wherefore hast Thou made me a Redeemer, 
And hast forbidden me to redeem?” 


And in the dead of night there is heard a sound of storm, 

The storm of golden chains, 

A storm of links that clash upon each other, 

As often as the Messiah strains to burst his bonds, 

And tears with the strength of his arm 

At the Throne of Glory and the pillars thereof, 

And at the heavens, and the heaven of heavens— 

And an echo is heard against it, in the dead of night, 

The sound of a storm of chains of iron 

On the face of the earth below, 

From end to end of the face of earth below. 

And it chances that from amidst the crimson clouds, 

From amidst the chrysolite and amber, 

From amidst the whiteness of white sapphire, 

A Voice is heard answering: “Until a new generation arise, 

A generation that will understand redemption, 

A generation that will desire to be redeemed, 

Whose soul will be prepared to be redeemed! 

Then wilt thou too achieve thy destiny and be redeemed: 

Then wilt thou too achieve thy destiny and redeem!” 
—Davip FRISCHMAN. 


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Biographical Index 


(The page numbers within parentheses refer to the extracts from the 
authors listed below.) 


ABRAHAM Ipn Daun (1110-1180), historian and philosopher, born in Spain: 
attempts in The Sublime Faith to reconcile Judaism with Aristotelianism. 
(pp. 154, 182) 

ABRAHAM IBN Ezra (1092-1167), poet and philosopher, born in Spain. 
Traveled a great deal in France, Italy, England, Egypt, etc. One of 
the most daring Bible commentators. (p. 175) 

ABRAMOWITCH, SHOLOM Jacog (1835-1917), born in Russia, better known 
under the pen name of Mendele Mocher S’phorim (Mendele the Book- 
seller). Depicts in several well-known novels the life of the Jews of 
Eastern Europe. (p. 331) 

ABTALION (Ist century B.C.), Pharisee descended from a family of prose- 
lytes, vice-president of the Sanhedrin. Always associated with the 
pie famous scholar Shemaya. Hillel was their disciple. (pp. 43, 


48) 

AcHap Ha-Am (One of the People), pen name of Asher Ginsburg, born in 
Russia 1856. Founder of a school of Zionist thought, the characteris- 
tic of which it is to stress the moral and cultural significance of Zion- 
ism, as opposed to the political. (p. 297) 

Acual SHascHa, Gaon (about 750), editor of a collection of decisions on 
sacred texts and on juridical questions. (p. 120) 

AxkipA BEN JosEPH (generally called AKrBa) (50-132), one of the most 
famous of the Tanaim, or Teachers, scholar, moralist and national 
hero. Was one of the supporters of Bar Cochba. Suffered martyrdom 
under the persecution of Hadrian. (p. 101) 

Axkytas (2nd century), Jewish proselyte, of Pagan origin. Known for 
his Greek translation of the Bible. (p. 100) 

As, SHOLoM, born in Russia 1881, established in the United States. One 
the best known dramatists and novelists in Yiddish literature. 

p. 325) 


BAAL SHEM (The Master of the Name), name given to Israel ben Eliezer 
of Medzyboz (1698-1760), thaumaturge and mystic, founder of the 
Chassidic sect. The Chassidic movement was the revolt against the 
formalism and Talmudic casuistry of the period. (p. 238) 

Bacuya Ipn Paxupa, lived in Spain, eleventh century. His famous work, 
Duties of the Heart, was the first systematic theory of a Jewish moral- 
ity. (p. 227) : 

BarucH Marizo (17th century), author of The Memoirs of the Children 
of Israel, in which is given the life of Sabbatai Zevi (1626-1676), the 
pseudo-Messiah. (p. 169) 

BENAMOZEGH, ELtas (1822-1900), Italian Rabbi, author of several works 
on Jewish historical subjects. (p. 

BErACHYA BEN Natronia (12th century), Biblical scholar of Provence. 
Author of Fables of the Fox, a Hebrew reproduction of the popular 
fables of the Middle Ages. (p. 224) 


393 


394. BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


BERDITCHEVSKy, MicHa JosEPH (1865-1921), Hebrew writer and philoso- 
pher, born in Russia. Opponent of cultural Zionism as conceived by 
Achad-Ha-Am. Introduced the theories of Nietzsche into Hebrew 
literature. (p. 318) 

BERNSTEIN, HENRI, French dramatist, born in Paris in 1876. Author of 
numerous plays. Treated the subject of anti-Semitism in his play 
Israel. (p. 357) 

Biatik, CHAim NACHMAN, Jewish national poet, born in Russia, 1873. 
Acknowledged head of the neo-Hebrew school. (pp. 322, 332, 335, 
337, 338, 364, 370) on 

Buser, Martin, German writer; has written a great deal on Chassidism 
and Jewish mysticism. (p. 318) 


CHANANEL BEN SHUSHIEL (990-1050), Talmudist, of Kairouan, author of 
rationalist commentaries on the Bible and the Talmud. (p. 173) 

CHANINA Ben Dossa (ist century), Tana (teacher) and thaumaturge, 
type of the poor Jewish pietist and scholar. (p. 94) 

CuHANINA Ben TerApIon (2nd century), Palestinian Tana. Martyred by 
the Romans. (p. 109) 

CHasDAI CrESCAS (1340-1410), philosopher, born in Spain. Exercised a 
profound influence on Spinoza. (pp. 203, 204) 

Cuaspar Isn SHAPRUT (915-970 or 990), doctor, philanthropist and states- 
man, councillor to the Sultan of Cordova, Abdul Rahman III. (p. 151) 

CoHEN, HERMANN (1842-1900), German philosopher, neo-Kantian, profes- 
sor at the University of Marburg. (p. 276) 

CoHEN, JAcoz, Hebrew poet, born in Russia, 1877. (pp. 334, 343, 365, 380) 


DARMESTETER, JAMES (1849-1894), French orientalist. Translated the Zend- 
Avesta into English. (p. 272) 

DisRaAELI, BENJAMIN, Lord Beaconsfield (1804-1881), English Conservative 
statesman and writer. Played the leading réle at the Congress of Ber- 
lin (1878), where he tried to obtain equality of civil rights for the Jews 
of Roumania. (p. 277) 

DusNow, SIMmon, journalist and historian, born in Russia, 1860. In his His- 
tory of the Jews he demonstrates the unity of the Jewish national spirit 
throughout the centuries. (p. 292) 


ErnstTen, ALBERT, German mathematician and philosopher, born 1879. Au- 
thor of The Theory of Relativity. Was among the German scientists 
who protested against the war. Takes an active part in the Zionist 
movement, and read the first lecture at the Hebrew University of 
Jerusalem. (p. 303) 

ELEazaR Ben Jupan, of Worms, Talmudist, Cabbalist and moralist, born 
circa 1176, died 1238. His family and many of his students were tor- 
tured by the Crusaders, but his work, Rokeach, is filled with a spirit of 
love toward God and man. (p. 228) 

ELeazar Ben Simon (2nd century), Palestinian Tana, son of Simon ben 
Jochai. (p. 110) 

EiLeazarR Ha-Kattr, date uncertain, religious poet of the Middle Ages. A 
great many of his poems are incorporated in the ritual. (p. 212) 

Eviezer BEN Hyrcanos (Ist and 2nd centuries), Palestinian Tana, founder 
of the Academy of Lud. (pp. 92, 121, 122) 

E.isHa BEN Azuya (ist and 2nd centuries), Palestinian Tana, generally al- 
luded to, with horror, as Acher (the Other), because of his open aban- 
donment of the faith. (p. 104): 

EMMANUEL OF RoME (1270-1330), poet and commentator, born in Rome. 
Author of poetical and satirical works. Among the latter is Hell and 


a 


BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX | 395 


Paradise, written under the influence of Dante, with whom he was 
probably on friendly personal terms. (p. 225) 
hate sy G., American Rabbi, born 1877, writer on Liberal Judaism. 
Pp. 315 


FLAvius, JosEPHUS (31-100), Jewish historian, descendant of the Hasmone- 
ans. Though he took part in the struggle against Rome, he accompanied 
Titus to Rome after the destruction of Jerusalem. Author of a Hts- 
tory of the Jews and History of the Jewish Roman Wars. (pp. 5, 6, 
T7/j110, 10, 20, 2%, 20, 44) 

FLec, EpMonp, French dramatist and poet, of Swiss origin, born in Geneva, 
1874. Author of several plays and volumes of poetry. (p. 385) 

FRANK, Watpo, American writer, born at Long Branch, N. J., 1889. Au- 
thor of several novels and of Our America. (p. 258) 

FriscHMAN, Davip (1860-1916), Hebrew poet and critic, born in Poland. 


(p._ 388) 
Fruc, S. S. (1860-1916), poet, born in Russia. Wrote in Yiddish and in 
Russian. Translated many modern works into Hebrew. (p. 387) 


GAMALIEL II (1st and 2nd centuries), Palestinian Tana, grandson of Ga- 
maliel I. Gamaliel II was, after the death of Simeon ben Jochai, Presi- 
dent of the Academy of Jabneh. (p. 96) 

GrIcER, ABRAHAM (1818-1874), Reform Rabbi, historian and critic, born 
in Germany. One of the founders of the Reform movement in Juda- 
ism. (p. 268) 

Gorpon, JupDAH Lerp (1831-1892), born in Russia. One of the pioneers of 
the neo-Hebrew poetry. Played an important role in the Haskallah, 
the Jewish renaissance of the nineteenth century. (p. 342) 

GRAETZ, HENRY (1817-1891), historian. Author of the first systematic his- 
tory of the Jewish people from its beginnings to modern times, still 
considered a standard work. (pp. 166, 235, 237, 238, 241) 


HeErz.L, THEODOR (1860-1904), founder of the modern Zionist movement. 
Author of The Jewish State and Altneuland. (p. 295) 

Hess, Moses (1812-1875), German writer and thinker. Identified first with 
the Socialist movement.. Author of Rome and Jerusalem, the first mod- 
ern expression of Jewish nationalism, and one of the classics of Zionist 
literature. (p. 291) 

HIteL, called sometimes Hillel the Great (40 B.C. to 10 C.E.), one of the 
most famous of the teachers, and the outstanding traditional type of 
scholar, by virtue both of learning and of character. (pp. 44, 47, 49) 

Hirscu, SAMSON RAPHAEL (1808-1888), German Rabbi, one of the fore- 
te orthodox divines of his time. Author of several religious works. 

p. 283) 

Hirscu, SAMUEL (1815-1889), Reform Rabbi, born in Germany, died in the 

United States. One of the leaders of the Reform movement. (p. 304) 


Isaac ABARBANEL (1437-1508), Talmudist, commentator and statesman. 
Pleaded the cause of the Jews unsuccessfully before Ferdinand and Isa- 
bella. (p. 164) 


JocHANAAN Ben Zaccalt (Ist century), Palestinian Tana, disciple of Hillel. 
Escaped from the city of Jerusalem during the siege by Titus and ob- 
tained permission to found the Academy of Jabneh. (p. 92) 

Jose Ben Cuatrarta (2nd century), Tana, disciple of Akiba. Founder of 
the Academy of Sepphoris, in Galilee. (p. 113) 

JosepH Ha-CoHEeNn (1496-1575), doctor and historian, born in Avignon, of 
a family exiled from Spain in 1492. His chief work is the Emek Ha- 


396 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


Bacha (Vale of Tears), an account of the persecutions of the Jews. 
(pp. 151, 156, 158, 160, 162, 164) 

JOSE THE GALILEAN, Palestinian Tana (beginning of the 2nd century). 
(p. T11) 

JOSEPHUS, see Flavius Josephus. 

JosHUA Ben CHANANYA (Ist and 2nd centuries), Palestinian Tana. Can- 
tor at the Temple before its destruction. (p. 97) 

Jupa Ha-Nast, known also as Juda the Saint, or Rabbi (135-220), one of 
the most famous of the Tanaim. The final editing of the Mishna was 
directed by him. (p. 113) 

JupAw At-Cuarizi (12th and 13th centuries), Hebrew poet, born in Spain. 
His chief work is the Tachkemoni, in imitation of the Arab Aji-Hariri. 
(p. 225) 

JupaAw Ha-Levi (born in Spain end of 11th century, died 1140). One of 
the greatest Hebrew poets of all time. Much of his religious poetry 
has been incorporated in the ritual. Known best for his poem on Pales- 
tine. Equally famous as a philosopher. (pp. 179, 181, 218) 

JupAH Inn BaLAam (13th century), born in Spain, grammarian, commen- 
tator ao religious poet. His commentaries were written in Arabic. 
(p. 173 


Kouer, KaAuFMANN (1843-1904), American Rabbi and theologian, born in 
Bavaria. One of the leaders of the Reform movement in the United 
States. (pp. 306, 307, 308) 

KROCHMAL, NACHMAN ( 1785-1840), writer and philosopher. His Guide to 
the Perplexed of the Times, written in Hebrew, treats of various 
aspects of Judaism. (p. 274) 


LASSALLE, FERDINAND ( 1825-1864), German sociologist and labor leader. 
With Karl Marx, the founder of the Social Democratic Labor move- 
ment of Germany. (p. 279) 

Lazare, BERNARD (1865-1903) French writer on political and literary sub- 
jects. Took a leading part in the vindication of Dreyfus. His best 
known work is on Anti-Semitism. (p. 280) 

Lazarus, Maurice (1824-1903), German scholar and philosopher. In his 
Ethics of Judaism attempts to prove the identity of Jewish and Kantian 

. morality. (p. 275) 

Leon oF Movena (1571-1648), Italian Rabbi and poet. Wrote his Jewish 
Customs and Ceremonies in Italian, the first detailed study of the sub- 
ject. (pp. 233, 234) 

Leven, Narcissus (1833-1915), French lawyer and philanthropist. Was 
active for many years in the Alliance Israélite Universelle, of which he 
was one of the founders. (p. 256) 

Levi, Sytvain, born 1863, French Indianologist, President of the Alliance 
Israélite. Author of several studies on Indian life and thought, and on 
Jewish subjects. (p. 282) 

Levy, Leonarp (1865-1917) American Reform Rabbi. Author of several 
religious works. (p. 310) 


MAIMONIDES, or Moses ben Maimon, known also as The Rambam (1135- 
1206), born at Cordova: the most famous of the Jewish medieval schol- 
ars and philosophers. His best known work is The Guide to the Per- 
plexed, in which he reconciles the Bible with Aristotle. This work has 
exercised a profound influence on Jewish thought from the date of its 
publication until modern times. (pp. 184, 185, 187, 190) 

Marx, Karu (1818-1883), German economist and labor leader, founder of 
the Communist International. Author of Das Kapital. (p. 278) 

MER (2nd century), Palestinian Tana. (p. 104) 


BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 397 


MENASSAH BEN IsRAEL (1604-1657), Rabbi and scholar. Negotiated suc- 
cessfully with Cromwell for the readmission of Jews into England. 
(pp. 231, 232) 

MENDELSSOHN, Moses (1729-1786), German philosopher and commentator. 
Laid the theoretic foundations of the Reform movement. Author of 
several important philosophic works, and translator into German of the 
Pentateuch. (pp. 243, 244, 245, 246) 

Moses Ipn Ezra (1017-circa 1138), born in Granada, poet and philosopher. 
Ranked with Judah Halevi. (pp. 174, 220, 221) 

MoNTEFIORE, CLAUDE (born 1858), English writer and thinker, contributor 
to the Jewish Quarterly and author of Liberal Judaism, a defence of 
the Reform movement. (pp. 311, 313) 

Munk, Sotomon (1803-1867), French orientalist, Professor at the College 
de France. (p. 269) 


Nauum Grmso (ist century), Palestinian Tana. (p. 95) 

NatHan Ha-Baveitr (10th century), Babylonian Jewish historian. (p. 88) 

Norpau, Max (1849-1923), Austrian doctor and writer, author of Degen- 
eration, The Conventional Lies of Civilization, etc. Joined the Zionist 
movement under Herzl, and remained till the end one of its leaders. 


(p. 293) 


Paruiére, Aimé (born 1875), born a Catholic and converted to Judaism at 
the age of 20. A disciple of Rabbi Benamozegh, whose works he edited.. 
Has written largely on Jewish religious subjects. (p. 286) 

Peretz, Jupan Ler (1851-1915), Hebrew and Yiddish writer, born in 
Russia. One of the most popular exponents of East European Jewish 
life, and particularly of Chassidism. (pp. 320, 348) 

Puito (20 B.C.-circa 50 C.E.), also known as Philo Judeus, of Alexan- 
dria, neo-Platonist. His principal works, in Greek, reconciled the Bible 
with Platonic thought. His influence on the founders of Christian 
theology was considerable. (p. 68) 

Pinsker, LEoN (1821-1891), Russian doctor and writer, author of the 
brochure, Auto-Emancipation, one of the first Zionist appeals. Took 
an active part in the Zionist movement, as at first organized in the form 
of the Choveve Zion (Lovers of Zion.) (p. 207) 

PropHiat Durtan (Isaac ben Moses Halevi), fourteenth century. Philoso- 
pher, physician and grammarian. -The ironical letter in the anthology 
was addressed to a friend who, in a pact with him, had agreed to enter 
the Catholic Church with a secret understanding to return to Judaism 
later. The friend, completely won over, failed to keep the pact. The 
letter is in reply to one from his friend. (p. 229) 


RABINOVITCH, SHALOM (1859-1916), known as Shalom Aleichem (his pen 
name), wherever Yiddish is spoken. The foremost Jewish humorist 
and raconteur. Author of numerous novels, sketches and studies, all 
of them in such intimately idiomatic Yiddish as to be practically un- 
translatable. (pp. 340-346) 

Rarsin, ABRAHAM, born in Russia, 1875, settled in the United States; Yid- 
dish poet and short story writer. (p. 352) 

Rasut, pen name of Solomon bar Isaac (1040-1105), born and died at 
Troyes, France. The greatest and most popular of the Bible and Tal- 
mud commentators. Still in the widest use to-day. (p. LO} 

RATHENAU, WALTHER (1867-1922), German industrialist, financier, states- 
man and philosopher. Assassinated, like many other German Jews 
(e.g., Kurt Eisner, Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxembourg, etc.) by his 
political opponents. (p. 281) 


398 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


REINACH, JosEPH (1856-1922), French writer and politician, Chef du 
Cabinet with Gambetta. Author of numerous political and historical 
studies. (p. 261) 

REINACH, Sotomon, brother of the preceding, born 1862, French philologist 
and archeologist. Author of studies on the origins of Judaism, etc. 

p. 271 

A ts Pahetons brother of the preceding, born in 1860, French orien- 
talist and Jewish scholar. (p. 309) 

ROSENFELD, Morris (1862-1924), born in Poland, resident most of his life 
in America, the most popular of the Yiddish poets. (p. 340) 


SAADIA BEN JosEPH (892-942), named Gaon of the Academy of Sura. His 
chief work is The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, written in Arabic, 
a systematic examination of Jewish thought. (pp. 171-172) 

SAMUEL IBN NacpILa (993-1055), Talmudist, poet and statesman, surnamed 
Ha-Nagid (Chief, or Prince). _Author of numerous poems and of an 
introduction to the Talmud. (pp. 86, 90, 219) 

ScHwops, Marcet (1867-1905), French writer, author of Cour Double, Vies 
Imaginaires, etc., and of a translation of Hamlet. Seldom makes use 
of Jewish themes. Was completely detached from Judaism. (p. 384) 

SHAMMAI (Ist century), Palestinian teacher, founder of a school, always 
mentioned together with Hillel, his contemporary, with whose gentle- 
ness his severity of temper is always contrasted. (pp. 44, 49, 50) 

SHEMAYA (see Abtalion). (pp. 43, 48) 

SHERIRA (10th century), Gaon of the Academy of Pumbedhita. Author of 
an important historic work in the form of a letter to the community. of 
Kairouan. (pp. 86, 87) ; 

SHNAIUR, ZALMAN, neo-Hebrew poet, born in Russia, 1887. Famous for 
his romantic poems and love-lyrics. (pp. 333, 344, 345) 

Stmon Ben JocHar (2nd century), Palestinian Tana, pupil of Jochanaan 
ben Zaccai. Traditionally, but incorrectly, regarded as the author of 
the Zohar. (p. 107) 

SIMON THE Just, date and identity uncertain, High Priest, one of the last 
sages of the Great Synagogue. (p. 5) 

SMOLENSKIN, PERETZ (1842-1885), Hebrew writer, born in Russia, founder 
of the important Hebrew periodical (now defunct), Hashachar (the 
Dawn). Among the first of the modern Jewish nationalists. (p. 384) 

SokoLtow, Nauum (born in Russia, 1859), Hebrew journalist and Zionist 
leader. Chairman of the Executive Committee of the World Zionist 
Organization. (pp. 264, 299) 

SOLoMoN Ben ApDRETH (1235-1310), of Spain, Talmudic scholar, author of 
several Shaaloth u-Tshuvoth (Questions and Answers on Ritual and 
Law). (p. 191) 

SoLoMON Isn GasrroL (1021-1058), among the finest of the Spanish school 
of poets and philosophers. His Fons Vite, written in Arabic, was for 
many centuries attributed to the Arabs. This work exercised a pro- 
found influence on Christian scholastic philosophy, introducing neo- 
Platonism into medieval Europe. (pp. 176, 177, 178, 214, 222) 

Sotomon Ipn Verca (15th and 16th centuries), author of The Scourge of 
Judah, an account of the persecutions of the Jews. (p. 161) 

Spinoza, BarucH (or Benedict) (1632-1677), Jewish philosopher and 
exegetist. His work is deeply influenced by Maimonides and Chasdai 
Crescas. (pp. 204, 205, 207) 

SPIRE, ANDRE, French writer, born 1868. Known for his literary and Zion- 
ist activities. (pp. 260, 327, 353, 356) 

STEINBERG, JUDAH (1863-1908), Hebrew poet and writer, born in Bessara-« 
bia. Known for his descriptions of the life of the Chassidim. (p. 358) 


BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 399 


TCHERNICHOWSKY, SAUL, born in the Ukraine, 1875, one of the foremost 
neo-Hebrew poets. (pp. 326, 354, 361) 


WASSERMANN, Jacos, German novelist and man of letters. (p. 360) 

Weiss, Isaac HirscH (1815-1905), Austrian scholar and Talmudist. (p. 
272) 

WEIZMANN, Cuarm (born in Russia, 1874), Zionist leader. For many years 
Professor of Chemistry at Manchester University, credited with a num- 
ber of important inventions. Instrumental, together with Sokolow, in 
obtaining the Balfour Declaration. President of the World Zionist Or- 
ganization. (p. 301) 

WEssELy, Hartwic (1725-1805), Hebrew writer and teacher, born in Ger- 
pst yan of the pillars of the Haskallah, or Hebrew Renaissance. 

p. 244 


Zavoc Kann (1839-1905), Chief Rabbi of France, one of the founders of 
the Revue des Etudes Juives. (p. 288) 

ZANGWILL, IsRAEL (born in London, 1864), novelist, dramatist, essayist and 
critic, for many years identified with the Zionist movement from which 
he seceded to found the Jewish Territorial Organization. Author of 
eis works on Jewish and general subjects. (pp. 264, 328, 320, 
363 

ZuNnz, Leorotp LippMANN (17094-1886), founder of Jewish Science. Au- 
thor of many important works on Jewish historical subjects. (p. 267) 


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